SANTA CLARA – Sticking with an annual ritual of adding a veteran player, the 49ers beat Tuesday's NFL trade deadline to sign defensive tackle Khalil Davis from the Houston Texans, a league source confirmed.

Davis' arrival isn't a surprise considering the 49ers are short on defensive tackles after losing Javon Hargrave to a torn triceps in Week 3.

Otherwise, the 49ers' final playoff push will revolve around their own reinforcements and they could tout the NFL's biggest midseason upgrade. Running back Christian McCaffrey should make his season debut on Sunday when the 49ers (4-4) visit the Tampa Bay Bucs (4-5), especially as long as McCaffrey's Achilles tendon problems don't flare up after resuming practice this week after the week's biggest workload Thursday.

The need for defensive tackle has been glaring, and Davis will help solve that problem – not to be confused with Kalia Davis, the 49ers' third-year veteran who has played four games in their defensive linemen's rotation.

Khalil Davis (6-foot-1, 300 pounds) has played in 27 games since entering the NFL as a sixth-round pick of the Bucs in 2020. That includes 24 games, 22 tackles, three sacks and one start since being traded to the Houston Texans in 2023 and reviving his career. He also had stints with the Indianapolis Colts (2021), Pittsburgh Steelers (2021, practice squad), Bucs (2022, practice squad), Los Angeles Rams (2022, practice squad), and Birmingham Stallions of the 2023 United States Football League.

The 49ers will continue to rely heavily on free agent additions Maliek Collins and Jordan Elliott, with additional releases available to Kevin Givens, Evan Anderson and practice squad options TY McGill and Nesta Jade Silvera. Yetur Gross-Matos, recovering from knee surgery, is expected to return to action Monday as an interior pass rusher.

While the 49ers completed their deal for Davis minutes before Tuesday's deadline, there would be no reunion with former 49ers defensive linemen like DJ Jones (Broncos), Arden Key (Titans) or Sebastian Joseph-Day (Titans).

Left tackle Trent Williams expressed curiosity Monday about the 49ers' plans at the trade deadline, saying a “super-aggressive” approach in the past could lead to another trade. “And if not,” Williams said, “we have more than enough in this locker room to go to war with anyone.”

By sitting idle on trade deadline day, the 49ers will have to lean on their strengths to overcome their two biggest losses of the first half of this season – we're talking about personnel in terms of wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Hargrave, not about them their division collapses Los Angeles Rams and the Arizona Cardinals.

First-round draft pick wide receiver Ricky Pearsall is delayed two games into his rookie season because of an unexplained gunshot wound to the chest. With Jauan Jennings expected to play with a hip muscle injury and Deebo Samuel presumably recovering from last month's bout with pneumonia, the receiving corps wasn't desperate for veteran help, as was the case in 2019 when Emmanuel Sanders moved to the rotation.

Therefore, the 49ers were not forced to make the type of mid-round draft pick that others did for DeAndre Hopkins (Chiefs), Amari Cooper (Bills), Davante Adams (Jets), Diontae Johnson (Ravens) and Mike Williams ( Steelers) and Jonathan Mingo (Cowboys).

A year ago, the 49ers acquired not one but two defensive ends before the deadline, although neither Chase Young (third-round pick) nor Randy Gregory (sixth-rounder, with a seventh-rounder in return) performed ideally.

This year, three of the 49ers' biggest Super Bowl contenders traded for defensive end help without spending a Day 1 or 2 draft pick: The Lions added Za'Darius Smith (Browns), the Chiefs added Josh Uche (Patriots) . , the Steelers poached Preston Smith (Packers) and the Cardinals secured Baron Browning (Broncos), an Ohio State product.