If there had ever been a time for the San Francisco 49ers to announce that they had signed star pass rusher Nick Bosa to a contract extension, it would have been Wednesday. That's when news leaked that head coach Kyle Shanahan had made a quarterback decision. It would be Sam Darnold, not the team's former No. 3 overall pick, Trey Lance, serving as Brock Purdy's backup this season.
The Faithful had much to say on social media surrounding the decision.
Briefly getting pushed to the side was the Bosa holdout storyline. The reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year did not report to training camp on July 25 with his teammates and continues to stay away from the team as he awaits a new contract.
So far, the 49ers have not expressed much concern regarding the negotiations. At least not publicly. What does general manager John Lynch have to say about the ongoing contract talks as Week 1 of the regular season quickly approaches?
"Well, I think concern is a relative word," Lynch told KNBR's Markus Boucher and Paul McCaffrey on Thursday morning. "I don't like the situation. Since our tenure here, we haven't had a holdout to anywhere towards this magnitude, so not something I'm comfortable with.
"We're working really hard to try to change that. We're in good communication with his reps. He's a special player. He's going to get a special contract, I can tell you that. But, yeah, we're getting closer, and eager to bring this thing to a close, but I think I'll leave it at that. We've talked from the beginning, Nick and myself and his representatives, about let's keep this thing in-house, and so we'll continue to do that."
Lynch added, "Just know that we're working diligently to try to bring it to a close."
With the lengthy delay, will Bosa be amply prepared for the start of the regular season, which for the 49ers is on September 10?
"Nick's a unique physical specimen," Lynch said. "Nick also prides himself, and is as special as anybody I've been around in terms of keeping himself in great shape. So I think Nick will be ready. That won't be a problem. We've just got to continue to plot forward and bring this to a resolution."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.