John Lynch spoke to reporters at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, for the first time since addressing the media after the 49ers’ loss to the Eagles in the NFC championship game. The general manager’s comments touched on a number of topics, most notably an update on Brock Purdy’s surgery and the quarterback situation.
What are the injury statuses of Brock Purdy and Trey Lance as the offseason begins?
Purdy’s injury situation got more complicated last week when surgery was postponed due to swelling in his right elbow. While the news doesn’t necessarily mean that the injury to his ulnar collateral ligament is more severe, it did knock his timeline back, as the six-month recovery cannot begin until he goes under the knife.
Another check-in is scheduled next week according to Lynch, and surgery could take place if all looks good. Lynch praised Dr. Meister for his decision to call off the initial surgery.
“I really wanna thank Dr. Meister,” Lynch said. “He called me when he made that decision. That’s a tough decision to make, but I really appreciate the courage and the conviction to make that decision. That’s all about the best outcome. Is it ideal? No, for a variety of reasons. Time, No. 1. You want every waking minute that you have. But ultimately he’s 22 years old, we want the best outcome, and that’s why Dr. Meister made a really tough decision, and we’re really appreciative.
A six month recovery — assuming the damage to the UCL is not more extensive than believed — would mean Purdy would not be available until after the preseason starts. That means Trey Lance will enter training camp as QB1. Lynch says that Lance, who missed all of last season with an ankle injury, is looking great and should be ready to go.
“I’m watching Trey out there, taking drops each day,” Lynch said describing the scene he sees on the practice field from his office. “I don’t see a limp. It’s not to say he’s 100 percent, but he’s really recovering well and doing a really nice job. He did start the throwing here recently. Trey’s rehabbing really well. He did have that secondary procedure. It wasn’t really a setback. One of the plates was kind of giving some interference with some of the tendons…but they took care of it. He seems to be doing really well and we’re really happy for him.”
Does the Purdy news, and relative Lance uncertainty, mean the 49ers are in the market for another quarterback?
The short answer: Yes, probably.
Lynch said the 49ers will likely have to explore the market as an insurance policy considering the lack of certainty at the quarterback position right now.
“We may have to look into the quarterback market in addition to Brock and Trey, to insulate ourselves from whatever may happen,” Lynch said. “We’re doing our due diligence like we always do.”
That said, it doesn’t sound like Jimmy Garoppolo — who is a free agent — or Tom Brady — who retired again — are on the shortlist. Lynch reiterated what Kyle Shanahan said about Garoppolo during the end-of-season presser, specifically that the relationship has run its course. He was however much more publicly grateful for what Garoppolo did while he was with the Niners.
“Jimmy’s been tremendous for us,” Lynch said. “In our first year, at the end of the year we do a trade and Jimmy comes in and lights it up. A lot of people want to talk about what we didn’t accomplish with him. What I know is we won a lot of football games with Jimmy. We admire his toughness, the teammate that he was.
“I know everyone wants to talk about some discourse and all that. I do believe that it’s probably run its course, but I think we leave with nothing but fond memories for Jimmy, and Jimmy’s going to go play good football for someone.”
Assistant coach shuffling
Though the offseason has been largely defined by assistant coaches leaving, Lynch announced on Tuesday that Brian Griese, who served as the 49ers’ quarterback coach last season, will return for a second season in 2023.
Lynch also discussed the hiring of new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, who just served as the interim head coach for the Carolina Panthers. Wilks is replacing DeMeco Ryans, who was hired by the Houston Texans as their newest head coach. The 49ers also lost chief of staff Nick Kray to Texans, who had served as the team’s unofficial “boombox guy” during the team’s pregame walk outs.
“Everybody knows him as the boombox guy. We’re taking applications for that,” Lynch said with a chuckle.
Regarding the Ryans for Wilks swap, Lynch said that there is not an expectation that wholesale changes will be made to the defensive scheme. The 49ers are expected to stick with what has worked over the last few seasons.
Future of Nick Bosa
Lynch said that negotiations with Bosa — who is set to become a free agent next offseason — have been minimal so far, but that he believes the two sides will eventually work something out.
“I feel really confident,” Lynch said via NBC Sports. “It’s hard for me. I want things done now. I always challenge that. Why can’t we? He wants to be here, we want him. Deadlines tend to drive these things, but our track record is — we get them done.”
After being named Defensive Player of the Year, Bosa is set up to become the highest-paid defensive player in the league at age 25. That would put him somewhere in the $30+ million range. Bosa is currently due just a hair under $18 million for next season.
The edge rusher has said that he wants to stay in San Francisco longterm, and he confident his agent and the 49ers will work something out.
“I’d love to be here for sure,” Bosa said. “This is a great organization and they treat me as good as you can, and I have amazing relationships here so hopefully, yeah.”
News on other free agents
Safety Tashaun Gipson — who was a revelation for much of last season — wants to come back for another season after reportedly mulling retirement. Gipson is an unrestricted free agent, but it stands to reason that the 49ers would want to retain the 32-year-old considering Jimmie Ward is likely to sign elsewhere.
The future of kicker Robbie Gould is less certain. Gould is a free agent and Lynch says that the 49ers are unlikely to use their franchise tag on him, which they did in 2019. According to Lynch, the team is currently evaluating draft-eligible kickers.
“We’re not done with that,” Lynch said via NBC Sports. “Part of the whole Robbie situation is we got to do our work here, and you want to give Robbie as much time to pivot as possible. But we have to do our evaluations here.”
Lynch says that re-signing Gould is still “very much in the picture,” but it will depend on the market for a kicker who at 40 is still one of the best in the business.