The Patriots Tuesday traded defensive end Keion White to the 49ers for a couple of draft picks. (AP photo)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers added some needed pass rush help to their injury-riddled defense by agreeing to a trade with the New England Patriots for Keion White.

Meanwhile the Patriots also reportedly dealt safety Kyle Dugger and a seventh round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a sixth round pick.

A person familiar with the White trade said the Niners will send the Patriots a 2026 sixth-round pick and get a 2026 seventh-rounder in return. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade hadn’t been announced.

The 49ers were searching for help on the defensive line after losing star edge rusher Nick Bosa to a season-ending knee injury in Week 3. San Francisco also is playing without two more defensive ends with Bryce Huff and Yetur Gross-Matos out with hamstring injuries.

The Niners also had Trevis Gipson claimed off the practice squad by Carolina on Tuesday after he had played in four games.

San Francisco had no sacks and only two quarterback hits in a loss last week against Houston and ranks last in the NFL with five sacks in the last six games.

The Niners are 5-3 and currently in third place in the NFC West.

White was a second-round pick in 2023 and showed flashes last season but had fallen out of favor this season under the new coaching staff led by Mike Vrabel. White had started only one game and was a healthy scratch in last week’s win against Cleveland.

The 26-year-old White had four sacks in the first two games of the 2024 season but hasn’t been very productive since then. He has one sack in his last 20 games and three quarterback pressures on 76 pass rush snaps this season, according to Pro Football Focus.

But White provides San Francisco with a pass rusher with positional versatility with the ability to play both inside and outside. The team is hopeful that defensive line coach Kris Kocurek can get the most out of him like he has with several other reclamation projects in recent years.

White has one year remaining on his rookie deal.

DUGGER DIDN’T FIT

It was rumored all during traiing camp that Dugger might be cut or traded before the start of the season as he was slowed in part from recovering from an injury. But he made the team; however, the former Bill Belichick draft pick was relegated to a backup role under Mike Vrabel. Safeties Jaylinn Hawkins and rookie Craig Woodson were ahead of him.

The Patriots, according to ESPN, will fill the spot by signing rookie safety John Saunders off the Miami Dolphins practice squad. He went undrafted after leading the SEC at Mississippi in turnovers.

PATRIOTS EXTEND JONES

Marcus Jones is in the middle of possibly his best season with the Patriots. On Tuesday, New England’s front office showed him how much it appreciates his efforts.

The team announced that the 27-year-old cornerback has signed a contract extension. Terms of the deal were not released, but it will keep Jones from entering free agency this summer when his rookie deal was set to expire.

A third-round draft pick by New England in 2022, he has totaled 36 tackles, two interceptions, nine pass breakups and a sack through eight games while being on the field for 76% of the defensive snaps. The two picks have already tied his career high from his rookie season. The nine breakups are one shy of equaling his career best.

His output this season is a function of the connectivity he’s had with his teammates throughout the defense, Jones said.

“I feel as though there’s a lot of guys that trust each other,” Jones said Monday. “Flying around to the ball, overcommunicating and things of that nature. Whenever you do have that trust, it allows us to go and make plays.”

Jones’ efforts as a punt returner earned him AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after returning a punt 87 yards for a touchdown in the Patriots’ 42-13 win over Carolina in Week 4. He finished that game with a single-game franchise record 167 yards on three punt returns, topping the 156 return yards by Mike Haynes against Buffalo in 1976.

That was the second such honor of Jones’ career. He also earned it his rookie season in 2022 after an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown with 5 seconds to play that vaulted New England to a 10-3 win over the New York Jets.

He garnered an All-Pro selection as a punt returner that same season.

(Telegraph Staff Writer Tom King contributed to this report.)