The San Francisco 49ers made a trade with the New Orleans Saints to acquire off-ball linebacker Deion Jones, sending running back Zamir White to New Orleans. The deal is a depth trade for both sides, involving two players who are not starters for either team. The idea behind the move stands out for the 49ers because San Francisco is reuniting Jones with defensive coordinator Raheem Morris while also opening space for a rookie to play a bigger role within the offense.

Background on both players

Deion Jones signed with the Saints on Aug. 8 after spending time with the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He spent the past two seasons with the Buccaneers before becoming a free agent throughout the offseason until New Orleans signed him earlier this month. Jones is a former second-round pick from 2016 who had some solid moments in the NFL, earning a Pro Bowl selection in 2017. The prime of his career came with Morris in Atlanta, which is the foundation of this reunion now that Morris serves as San Francisco’s defensive coordinator.

White is a running back the 49ers signed on Aug. 12 as a depth piece. The 26-year-old was a fourth-round pick by the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022 and spent his first four seasons in Las Vegas before signing with the 49ers as a free agent. For the Saints, who lost Alvin Kamara to an injury, adding a player who can function as both a running back and a kickoff returner makes sense. White had 12 carries against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2 of the preseason.

Two potential upsides for the 49ers

From San Francisco’s perspective, the trade carries two layers of upside. The first is linebacker depth. The 49ers lost Nick Martin, who hurt his hamstring. Jones has a similar profile to provide depth behind Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, and that is likely the primary reason the 49ers made the move.

The second is what this says about the running back room. Moving on from White shows how comfortable San Francisco is with third-round pick Kaelon Black as a backup. The 49ers also have Sincere McCormick and Khalil Herbert in the mix, which made White somewhat expendable at the position for head coach Kyle Shanahan.

Both players involved in the trade are training camp bodies to a certain extent, but the question now is whether Jones can secure a spot on the 53-man roster over the next week or so. This could end up as a late training camp swap where both teams are simply evaluating new faces before final cuts. For the 49ers, it’s a solid move, but the overall impact on the roster should not be that significant.

Grade: B-