DeForest Buckner wasn’t the one that got away.
He was the one who was traded away. The 49ers made a conscious decision to send their best defensive player to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for the No. 13 overall pick in the 2020 draft.
Buckner, one of the NFL’s most dominant interior linemen, didn’t want to go and told general manager John Lynch as much.
“When I had my conversation with John, I told him, `Look, my agent is telling me I’m worth this, but obviously I’m able to meet in the middle,’ ” Buckner said Wednesday in a conference call with Bay Area writers. “Someway, somehow, I want to be here. But I didn’t want to take too big of a pay cut to where I know what I’m actually worth.”
What Buckner was worth to the Colts was four years and $84 million. The 49ers then paid Aric Armstead, one of Buckner’s closest friends, five years and $85 million. Then they drafted Javon Kinlaw at No. 14 (trading back one spot with Tampa Bay) and figured they had it covered.
Buckner will play his first game at Levi’s Stadium since the trade Sunday night when the 49ers (2-3) host the Indianapolis Colts (2-4).
Slowed by a foot injury during part of training camp, Buckner is coming off his best game in a 31-3 win over the Houston Texans with two tackles for losses and his second sack of the season.
Lynch has called dealing Buckner one of the toughest decisions he’s ever had to make as a general manager. Safety Jimmie Ward on Monday called Buckner the “heart and soul” of the 49ers defense and wondered how other teams managed to squeeze in premium players under the salary cap.
“Initially, I was like, the Chiefs did it after winning the Super Bowl,” Buckner said. “Tampa Bay did it. The Rams did it. Essentially, people put the effort to find a way. But some guys don’t and it doesn’t go your way. These are the cards I was dealt.”
Initially dismayed, Buckner now believes the trade was the best thing that could have happened to him.
“I feel like I grew from that move,” Buckner said. “It made me step out of my comfort zone in a lot of ways. It helped me grow as a man, as a player, as a teammate, as a father, a husband and a leader.
“In the moment, when it was official, if you’d told me I was going to feel this way a year and a half later I would have said you’re crazy. But everything happens for a reason and the Lord put me here and I’m very happy for the decisions that were made.”
