The 49ers will be hoping that Kwon Alexander hits his playing-time benchmarks for the New Orleans Saints over the last half of the 2020 NFL season.
As part of San Francisco's trade of Alexander to New Orleans, the 49ers will receive linebacker Kiko Alonso and a conditional 2022 fifth-round draft pick.
Normally a provision is added to a draft pick in a trade that moves the selection up a round in the draft, for example making a fifth-round pick a fourth-round pick. But the fifth-rounder in this trade will become a 2021 fifth-round pick if Alexander hits the playing time benchmarks, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reported Monday.
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As long as Alexander hits those playing-time parameters, the 49ers will have another fifth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, one which seemingly is becoming a lot more important for the organization's future as the 2020 season continues to go off the rails due to injury.
Alexander was signed in free agency prior to the 2019 season, but injuries kept him off the field for a significant portion of his tenure with the 49ers. Alexander still has over $25 million remaining on his initial contract with San Francisco, so this also doubles as a cost-cutting move going forward.
