Photo courtesy of the San Francisco 49ers
John Lynch will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame today. He took time out of his busy schedule this week to speak with Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area and shared his thoughts on the road to football immortality.
While Lynch is being recognized for his 15 combined seasons as an NFL safety, he currently serves as the San Francisco 49ers general manager. He has high expectations for the current roster he has helped build. Unfortunately, the team has failed to find consistent success. While it reached the Super Bowl during the 2019 season, three of the past four seasons have resulted in six-or-fewer wins.
While Lynch is in Canton for this weekend's festivities, he has managed to sneak some glances at the practice footage on his iPad and enjoyed seeing the videos online from Saturday's practice inside Levi's Stadium.
"I like our roster. I like it a lot," Lynch said, "and there's great competition. I think that's the one thing that I really enjoy. I think we're deeper than we've ever been. I think the D-line is a great representation of that. We've really added to that with guys like (Samson) Ebukam, the Raider guys, [Maurice] Hurst and
Arden Key. Zach Kerr came in.
"All our top-flight guys, (Arik) Armstead and
D.J. Jones, they're all looking really, really good. And Bosa looks great [on] the side. Probably won't see him much through the preseason, but he's tracking well for Week 1.
"So, we couldn't be happier with the way our roster is shaping up. You just try to maintain that."
The general manager shared what the team is doing differently this season to ensure 2021 turns out healthier than 2020.
"[Training camp has been] relatively healthy," Lynch said. "Some nicks are starting to spring up. And I think these days, you're just so careful and probably a little proactive. If someone's tightening up, you give them a couple of days [off] because we've had experiences where you try to push through, and it becomes something bigger."
Of course, no conversation would be complete without discussing the 49ers' quarterback situation. Lynch admitted that everyone is interested in that topic. He was even asked about it over the weekend by his fellow inductees, like Jimmy Johnson, Peyton Manning, and Calvin Johnson. They all want to hear about the 49ers' exciting rookie,
Trey Lance.
"I think there's been a lot of buzz about his well Trey's been playing, and that travels," Lynch said. "So a lot of people have asked. ... It's been fun to share that with people."
Lynch commented that the rookie quarterback had a jump in performance from organized team activities to training camp, a testament to his work ethic and study habits.
"He's a pro. He's a pro already," Lynch said. "We thought that. Everyone told us that. You meet his family. That kind of confirms that. And then when you mix a guy, who it's important to and works, and you mix that with the talent, and the skill set that he has, you have a chance for something.
"Now, we all say that he's doing really well. We've had like four padded practices, so we've got a ways to go, but we sure like where he's at."
Lynch didn't ignore his other quarterback—the one slated to start Week 1.
"I'll tell you, we're talking about Trey so much, [
Jimmy Garoppolo] has been really good, and he's really responded to the challenge," Lynch shared. "And he's been great to the kid, but he's also a competitor. It's important for him to be the guy lining up there this year for us. His teammates love him. That hasn't changed. And he's playing at a really good level right now."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
Related News
Trey Lance has primarily spent his first NFL season as a student, learning the game. He's had two starts in place of an injured Jimmy Garoppolo but has spent most game days on the sideline as an observer.
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch has benefited from watching Lance in practices all season and witnessing his development. On Friday morning, Lynch joined 95.7 The Game and was asked how he would evaluate the rookie's first season.
"I think it's been awesome," Lynch responded. "And a lot of people, I'm sure, are like, 'Man, this guy's crazy. What do you mean? He hasn't played that much.' But we had a plan for Trey, and I think the plan was to take it week by week. And we just wanted to see constant growth and development.
"The thing
It's time for NFL teams to start thinking about exercising the fifth-year options of their first-round picks in the 2019 NFL draft. That includes some pretty big names, like Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray. The window to exercise those options opened on Monday, with the deadline set for May 2.
NFL Media analyst Marc Ross went through each first-round pick from 2019, voting "Yes" or "No" to indicate whether he feels their respective teams should exercise the fifth-year option.
For the San Francisco 49ers, that means looking at the possibilities for defensive end Nick Bosa. This one seems like a no-brainer. Bosa is the team's best pass rusher and its best player on the defensive side of the ball. He is a foundational piece on defense, and the unit's
As always, Thursday was an eventful media day for the San Francisco 49ers, who had a number of players speak to the media as well as defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel.
49ers Webzone has already dug into a number of topics discussed by those players and coaches, but there's much more to cover than that. We'll get into that in today's notebook feature below. Here's a rundown of a number of items of note covered during today's media sessions.
(See also: John Lynch says Deebo Samuel will be with the 49ers for a long time | DL Arden Key
It was hard to see San Francisco 49ers pass rusher Nick Bosa down on the field late in the first half of Sunday's playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys. Everyone, including the fans, knows how much the young defensive end means to the 49ers defense. After the team lost Bosa early last season, the pass rush never really got going.
Bosa was ruled out with a head injury and will likely enter the concussion protocol this week, ahead of the 49ers' next playoff game—a Divisional Round matchup against the Green Bay Packers.
"We were thinking of him, and I'm happy that he'll be OK, and it's not too serious," defensive lineman Arik Armstead said after Sunday's game. "Obviously, we can't wait to get him back. He's a force for us, and I love playing alongside
