Why 49ers’ Javon Hargrave deal is ‘funny’ to DeForest Buckner after 2020 trade

What Buckner finds ‘funny’ about 49ers’ deal for Hargrave originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea

DeForest Buckner couldn’t help but notice something familiar about Javon Hargrave’s reported free-agent contract with the 49ers.

San Francisco made a surprising splash on Monday morning, agreeing to sign the former Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle to a four-year, $84 million contract in free agency.

By adding Hargrave, the 49ers beefed up their defensive line alongside Arik Armstead with a star tackle, the caliber of which they have not had since Buckner in 2019.

After the deal was announced, the former 49ers defensive lineman spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Mike Silver, where he noticed a similarity between Hargraves’ reported contract and the exact contract he received (four years, $84 million) from the Indianapolis Colts after being traded from San Francisco in the 2020 offseason.

“Great for him!” Buckner told Silver. “Just funny how they literally gave him the same contract.”

Unable to work out a contract extension with the 49ers after his second team All-Pro selection in 2019, Buckner was traded to the Colts in exchange for the No. 13 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, which San Francisco used to draft a cheaper replacement, defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw.

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Unfortunately for the 49ers, Kinlaw has not been able to stay healthy and his future with the team appears bleak. Since the trade, Buckner received a First Team All-Pro selection in 2020 and was named to his second career Pro Bowl in 2021.

It took three seasons, and a hefty contract that the team didn’t want to give Buckner, but the 49ers finally have found his replacement.

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