Seahawks may have started arms race with NFC West-leading 49ers

The Seattle Seahawks have pulled off a big trade to improve their offense, acquiring perennial Pro Bowl left guard Quenton Nelson from the Indianapolis Colts.

Brock and Salk: Quenton Nelson trade a ‘steal’ for Seahawks

With the defending Super Bowl champions sitting at a 4-3 record and chasing the San Francisco 49ers (6-1) in the NFC West, the trade is surely about making move up the standings as Seattle looks to bring a second straight Lombardi Trophy to the Pacific Northwest. And it’s quite possible the 49ers won’t take the Seahawks’ splashy acquisition lying down and will counter in an arms race between the two division rivals.

According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz of The Schultz Report, there is “league wide expectation” that the Niners “will respond” after the Seahawks’ addition of Nelson.

League wide expectation is the #49ers will respond next after the #Seahawks acquisition of Quenton Nelson.

The NFC West is about to heat up in a big way.

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) October 27, 2026

What could that mean?

The 49ers aren’t likely to respond by trying to improve their offensive line, which has been a strength this season. Instead, San Francisco could look to acquire a player who would compete directly against Nelson. In fact, it could be a player who has been Nelson’s teammate in Indy.

The name that has come up in rumors for the Niners is Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, who Indianapolis is reportedly shopping with the Nov. 10 NFL trade deadline just two weeks away. Buckner, a three-time Pro Bowler, was the No. 7 overall pick out of Oregon in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft by San Francisco and spent the first four years of his career with the 49ers. He is now in his seventh season with a Colts team that has limped to a 2-5 start this season.

San Francisco has three defensive tackles out of action due to injury: Alfred Collins, C.J. West and Sam Okuayinonu. The starting defensive tackles on the 49ers depth chart are Gracen Halton and Osa Odighizuwa.

The Seahawks and 49ers split their regular season series with each other last season, but Seattle got the last laugh with two wins over San Francisco in a three-week period, including a 41-6 blowout in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs en route to its Super Bowl title.

The 49ers have the upper hand this year, however, after beating the Seahawks 32-29 in Seattle on Oct. 11. Things haven’t been perfect for San Francisco, though, as it is dealing with a multitude of injuries and just suffered its first loss of the season, which came at the hands of a 3-4 Atlanta Falcons team.

The Seahawks will visit the Niners on Nov. 29, a game in which Seattle will be coming off of its bye week.

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