The San Francisco 49ers are viewed as a destination where NFL players want to go. Much of that has to do with general manager John Lynch, head coach Kyle Shanahan, a whole lot of salary cap space, and the excitement surrounding quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
There was one NFL player that seemingly had no desire to go to the 49ers, despite the fact that San Francisco now appears to be a much more desirable destination when compared to previous years. Cornerback Aqib Talib reportedly did not want to play for the 49ers, who had nearly completed a trade agreement with the Denver Broncos to acquire him.
It's not just that he didn't want to be traded, multiple reports stated that he did not want play for San Francisco. ESPN's Adam Schefter said Talib would not report to the 49ers if he was sent there.
Instead, Talib was traded to the Los Angeles Rams, and San Francisco went on to sign former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman a few days later.
General manager John Lynch spoke with Steve Wyche of NFL Network and explained why the deal for Talib fell through. You can listen to what Lynch had to say below.
Before signing CB Richard Sherman, the 49ers had finalized a trade with Denver for CB Aqib Talib. 49ers GM John Lynch explains why things fell apart pic.twitter.com/hN7zl0yOjk
— Steve Wyche (@wyche89) March 12, 2018
"We worked aggressively to try to come to a deal with Denver," Lynch said. "We did. We came to an agreement with Denver, and then it became apparent quite quickly -- when you're traded, it can be a surprise. I think for Aqib, he was kind of taken aback. It wasn't that he didn't want to be a 49er. It's that he didn't want to be traded. If he was traded, he wanted to be a couple of places."
Lynch said they could have played hardball and gone through with the trade, but they want players who want to be with the 49ers. He went back to Broncos general manager John Lynch and informed him that they would not execute the trade.
"I've always been a believer that things work out for a reason, and when Richard Sherman became available, that maybe here's our reason," Lynch continued. "Fortunately, we were able to get that done."