This Patriots-49ers Trade for Julian Edelman Would Be a Perfect Upgrade for San Fran's WR Corps

Well, what's next, Patriots fans? Tom Brady is gone. Rob Gronkowski returned only to leave New England. At this point, hanging on to Julian Edelman doesn't make much sense. There are plenty of teams across the league that could use the veteran wideout, so why doesn't Bill Belichick continue the mass exodus and trade him?

Keeping him is a good idea to help the development of Jarrett Stidham, but let's be honest, that's not going to be the Patriots quarterback of the future. Find a team in desperate need of a reliable veteran on the outside and get some draft capital in return.

Enter the San Francisco 49ers. Let's dig up some oldies!

SIX WHOLE YEARS ago the 49ers had interest. Could it still be alive?! Who knows, but some 49ers fans on Twitter are asking for it. Edelman could reunite with Jimmy Garoppolo and provide a veteran on a wide receiving corps that's expected to be extremely young once John Lynch takes a couple of prospects in the upcoming draft.

We saw the value Emmanuel Sanders provided the team after coming over in a trade from the Broncos. Add in Edelman, who is signed through 2021 for a total of $15.5 million, and he's right in line with the team's prime Super Bowl window. With cap hits of just $9.6 million and $6.6 million, this would be the perfect veteran acquisition for the 49ers, who have some financial issues to sort out over the next couple of years.

The bad news is that the 49ers don't own any picks from Rounds 2-4, but Lynch is reportedly exploring deals for the team's two first-round picks. Trade one of those, stock up on some more mid-rounders, and send a third to New England, acquire Edelman, and call it a day.

For the love of GOD, just don't let the Bucs make this deal please.