Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Tuesday, April 1st, 2025
49ers’ John Lynch still optimistic about finalizing a Brock Purdy extension soon (paywall)
“Of course, Lynch also suggested the deal might not get done at all this year. Purdy still has one more season left on his very affordable rookie contract, which appears to be something the team is using as leverage in negotiations.
“Brock wants to be with us,” Lynch said. “We want Brock to be with us. When that’s the case, these things typically get done. And does it happen this offseason? I don’t know. Hopefully, it happens real soon this offseason.”
49ers moving forward with Aiyuk on 2025 roster amid trade speculation, per Lynch
“Aiyuk met last week with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed the surgery to repair his torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Aiyuk also sustained a torn medial collateral ligament during the 49ers’ Oct. 20 game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Lynch declined to place a timetable on Aiyuk’s return, but he said all signs are pointing in a positive direction.
“But he did very well,” Lynch said. “We’re pleased with Brandon’s progress. He’s been working hard and got good reviews from Dr. ElAttrache. That was a key marker, as I mentioned it would be. He did well.”
Lynch confident 49ers’ offensive line has ‘good pieces’ for 2025
“We like our right tackle. We like our center,” Lynch said. “Left guard, we have some candidates in-house right now. But will we look to add in the draft? Certainly.”
Brendel ranked 12th in the NFL among all centers who played 700 or more snaps last season, per PFF’s blocking grades. McKivitz compiled solid grades, ranking 28th among all offensive tackles with 700 or more snaps.
However, Brendel and McKivitz are often identified as players whose starting positions could be vulnerable.
“That’s something where I don’t follow the (social media) narrative on how our guys are,” Lynch said. “We evaluate our players, and we think we have a pretty steady group.”
Insider: I don’t think Brock Purdy holds out amid 49ers contract talks
“Any time before Week 1 is going to be fine with everybody,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported from the NFL’s annual meeting in Florida. “I don’t think Brock Purdy holds out of training camp. I don’t think he misses anything in the spring.”
Kawakami: Looming and loaded 49ers questions for Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch, and Jed York
“But did Shanahan and Lynch, entering their ninth season together, sign off on the complete scale of this? On all the deep cuts and not replacing them with anybody significant? Do the coach and general manager fully endorse this on-the-fly rebuild this late into their tandem tenure?
I suspect that Lynch and Shanahan mostly watched from the sidelines as things moved from normal attrition to the mini purge to my-goodness-who’s-left. And now they have to deal with the ramifications. The most serious one: If the 49ers miss the playoffs again with this less-talented roster, will York accept it as a consequence of the cost cutting? Or will he blame his coach and GM?”
How the 49ers hesitated and lost linebacker Dre Greenlaw to free agency (paywall)
“Lynch suggested the 49ers’ front-row seat to his attrition made them wary about locking him up with a lucrative long-term contract extension before the start of free agency. And he likened the situation to what he faced during his 15-season career as a Hall of Fame safety.
In 2004, after his 11th season, Lynch was released by the Buccaneers shortly after he had neck surgery to remove bone spurs and relieve nerve pressure that had led to a series of shoulder stingers. But Lynch wasn’t unemployed for long. Ten days after he was released, he signed with the Broncos after he was also courted by a group that included the Patriots and Jets.
“The same thing happened to me in Tampa,” Lynch said. Broncos head coach “Mike Shanahan was fine to take me after I’d have some surgery on my neck because he hadn’t watched all the carnage go on. But the Bucs were kind of done with me. We weren’t done with Dre, but we had to go through the process.”
“According to Matt Barrows of The Athletic, the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos are in discussions to hold joint practices.”