While up until kickoff on Sunday it was plausible for the San Francisco 49ers to make a splash trade for an edge rusher to replace Nick Bosa, that reality has since changed when Fred Warner also went down for the season. It doesn’t mean that the 49ers still can’t make a postseason run, but it would at this point be wise to do it with the current talent, thin as it may be, or with a less valuable player via trade that’s more in a long-term plan.

They’ve just reached the point of absurdity with key injuries to the best players on the team and most important leaders. The ridiculousness of San Francisco’s injury situation was mildly humorous before losing Warner. It all just feels bleak now and a bit insurmountable.

Maybe the team rallies in spite of it. But Warner's injury has to change the strategy of any bold moves by the front office at the NFL trade deadline. For now, general manager John Lynch and the team should focus on building and developing the younger talent on their roster, because they quite honestly haven’t been at full strength since Week 1 of the season at all. It’s just impossible to evaluate them until the offense at minimum gets pieces back.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the Niners' hardest opponent in this next stretch until Week 10 against the Los Angeles Rams. They have a beatable slate against the Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans, and New York Giants.

At minimum, those all fall before the Nov. 4 trade deadline, and might give a sense of whether this season is worth fighting for. It would be a swell time to get back George Kittle, and if he could return alongside Brock Purdy, that at least gives the core of the offense back. Then maybe there's a trade target that fits who isn't a short-term rental.

Mac Jones has been more than serviceable, and likely has earned himself a longtime backup career at minimum with how he’s played for San Francisco in the absence of Purdy, keeping them alive for the season with a 3-1 record under center. But a team sometimes just needs the swagger from their starting quarterback. And times are dire enough in the Bay Area to welcome that jolt of energy.

Christian McCaffrey, at this point, is on pace for a career-high 306 carries should he play all 17 games this season with an average of 18 per game. That is not ideal, nor sustainable, and it frankly hasn't been effective with how depleted the offense is. He cannot be Herculean forever. But this team looks entirely different when one side of the ball features Purdy, Kittle, Ricky Pearsall, a healthier Jauan Jennings, and McCaffrey.

What’s best for the 49ers at this point is to grin and bear it until those core offensive pieces return and give this team a proper chance to salvage a season that shouldn’t feel as lost as it does atop the NFC West at 4-2.