49ers better equipped to handle injuries this season, says John Lynch; He sees opportunity, not pressure

Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area had a chance to sit down with San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch this week and discuss the state of the roster in Year 3 of what was a massive rebuild. The GM likes where the team is at right now, especially compared to where it was in Year 1 or even last offseason.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan first said in June that he finally feels confident that the 49ers have enough depth now to overcome injuries.

"It's the first year that we can overcome injuries, and you have to be in that situation," Shanahan said. "Everybody's going to get hurt, and you can always get lucky regardless of what happens. We expect to have injuries. That's part of football. But I definitely am a lot more confident going into this year, if that does happen. We have guys who have experience, and we also have guys who have some talent who can step in and help us out."

Lynch and Shanahan agree when it comes to the 49ers' improved depth compared to previous years. The pressure, however, is on for the team to win. The duo is in the third year of six-year deals and has had ample time to put their stamp on the roster.

Lynch doesn't see it as pressure, though.

"I think what I feel is an opportunity," the GM said on Friday. "I think we've put a lot of hard work in to improve our roster, and I think we've been able to do that and what does that do, that gives you a chance. And that's up to us what we make of that, but you know we're better positioned. You call it pressure; you call it opportunity, I just think we're all extremely excited to kick this year off and what lies ahead."

Lynch elaborated this week on why he views this as an opportunity, and not pressure.

"I think we're better equipped," Lynch told Maiocco. "We've built. We've got Jimmy (Garoppolo) back, but we've built around Jimmy, both on the offense and the defense. The special teams as well […] Yes, we only won four games (last year), but we feel fairly good about our team.

"I think last year can be a great lesson. When there's all these expectations, and I think this year, probably a little more real in terms of our expectations for our own team, a lot can happen.

"We've tried to equip ourselves that even if we have some of those things happen that happened last year, we can overcome that, and that has to be our mindset."

Lynch understands that dealing with the pressure to win football games is part of the job description. He also notes that the whole point of the six-year contracts he and Shanahan received was so they could build the roster the right way and make it sustainable.

Still, the 49ers GM wants to win now.

"Our expectations are to win right away," Lynch said. "I'm not getting into all the different scenarios. I'm focused on what I can do today, and then I'll go to bed thinking, 'What can I do tomorrow to make the Niners better?'"

Maiocco asked Lynch if he feels like the team is where he wants it to be or close to that. Lynch loves the progress he and Shanahan have made. He loves the foundation in place but acknowledges that no roster is perfect. Lynch feels adding game-changing players, like Dee Ford and Tevin Coleman, gives the 49ers a better chance to be more successful than the previous two seasons.

Added Lynch, "I'm very confident in the way we're going about our job. I don't think about (the pressure). I don't know why, but it's the way I've always thought. I think about what I can do to help this place be successful, and I try to kind of have that permeate throughout this building.

"Kyle has a very similar philosophy, and we're just going to keep going to work. We believe the results are going to be really good."

You can listen to the entire interview with Lynch below.