Kwon Alexander, who was popular among his teammates during his time with the 49ers, suffered a season-ending torn Achilles on Friday, ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported, citing sources.
The linebacker, now a member of the New Orleans Saints, suffered the injury during his team's 52-33 win over the Minnesota Vikings at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
It's a devastating injury for Alexander and the Saints as they fight for positioning at the top of the NFC playoff race.
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But Alexander's injury also might have ramifications on the 49ers' future.
General manager John Lynch traded Alexander to the Saints for injured linebacker Kiko Alonso and a 2022 fifth-round pick on Nov. 2, and a few days later, Alonso was released. The draft pick and shedding Alexander's salary really was what the trade was about for the 49ers.
But the conditions on the draft pick were unusual, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reported in November. Normally, the conditions would cause the draft pick to move up a round or two in that same draft year, but according to Breer, the 49ers could have gotten a 2021 fifth-round pick if Alexander had met certain playing time benchmarks with the Saints.
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It's unclear what the playing time requirements were for the compensation to convey as a 2021 pick, but with Alexander missing the final game of the season, there's a chance he might not meet the threshold.
Alexander played in his seventh game with the Saints on Friday, so it's possible he did meet the requirements. Presumably, the 49ers and Saints will make an announcement in the coming weeks regarding whether the pick will remain a 2022 selection or move up to 2021.
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But for now, the immediate concern is with the health of Alexander, who could miss a portion or all off the 2021 NFL season as he recovers from the Achilles injury.