SANTA CLARA -- Nick Bosa was asked Friday if he knew what number he would wear during his rookie season with the 49ers.
“No, not yet,” Bosa answered. “I haven’t even thought about it. I’ll figure that out later.”
On Saturday, the answer became obvious. Bosa will wear No. 97, just as his dad, John Bosa, wore with the Miami Dolphins, and he and his brother, Joey, wore at Ohio State.
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The 49ers traded outside linebacker Dekoda Watson, who previously wore No. 97, to the Denver Broncos on Saturday, along with a sixth-round pick (No. 212 overall) for the Broncos’ fifth-round pick at No. 148 overall.
"The fifth round has been pretty good to us, so we really wanted to get up there, and we were looking for trade partners." 49ers general manager John Lynch said. "At some point we had had a conversation about Dekoda, thinking that we might go edge. We had a conversation with Denver, and it led to this, which happened today. We were excited to get up into the fifth round. I think they were excited to have Dekoda in their equation, and we're excited for that."
Watson, 31, a nine-year veteran, appeared in 18 games and recorded 13 tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble since signing with the team as a free agent in 2017. Watson appeared in just four games last season. He began the season on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.
"We love Dekoda," 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. "We brought him here to really help us out on special-teams and to be an edge rusher for us with the get-off and speed, and we've gotten better in some special team areas, and we've gotten better at our edge rusher, so I think it was a better situation for him in Denver, and we love Dekoda and appreciate everything for him, and think he's at a place that appreciates him, also.”
Before Watson came to the 49ers, the club had not put No. 97 into service since Bryant Young's retirement at the end of the 2007 season.
San Francisco 49ers
Earlier, the 49ers made a trade with the Cincinnati Bengals.
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The 49ers sent the No. 104 selection to Cincinnati, which used the pick to select North Carolina State quarterback Ryan Finley.
The Bengals sent a fourth-round pick at No. 110, which the 49ers used to pick Utah punter Mitch Wishnowsky, along with sixth-round selections at Nos. 183 and 198.