John Lynch explains thought process behind 49ers’ offseason: ‘A tough pill to swallow’

It’s fair to say the San Francisco 49ers had one of the worst NFL offseasons. While they extended the contracts of Brock Purdy, George Kittle and Fred Warner, they either cut, traded or lost plenty of talent over the last few months. It’s a laundry list that includes Jaylon Moore, Aaron Banks, Jordan Mason, Talanoa Hufanga, Dre Greenlaw, Charvarius Ward, Deebo Samuel, Javon Hargrave, Maliek Collins and Leonard Floyd.

General manager John Lynch believes this kind of offseason was necessary given the state of the roster and looming extensions. Still, it didn’t make the actual process any easier. 

“Even though we kind of warned our fans, I think that’s a tough pill to swallow, even if you hear it’s happening,” Lynch said on the latest ’49ers Talk,'” via NBC Sports Bay Area. “I think it spoke to how good our roster was. We had a lot of talent on it, and we had acquired a lot of talent and accrued a lot of talent.”

As the 49ers leaked talent in March, Lynch said the franchise had a plan and that “big things” were coming their way. In hindsight, there were two facets of this plan: Building the defense through the draft and extending Purdy. Lynch used his first five selections in the 2025 NFL Draft on the defensive side of the ball. The draft class was headlined by former Georgia pass rusher Mykel Williams, but San Francisco also targeted some run-stuffers like Alfred Collins out of Texas in the second round and CJ West out of Indiana in the fourth round.

Next came Purdy’s extension. In late May, the 49ers and their quarterback agreed to a five-year, $265 million contract that includes $181 million in total guarantees. How much money Purdy was worth was a major talking point over the last year or so. Ultimately, he doesn’t shatter any financial records, as Purdy’s $53 million AAV is tied for No. 7 among highest-paid QBs. 

There’s more pressure on Purdy entering 2025, not just because he’s making more money, but because he’s operating with less talent as well. The bottom line is that the 49ers wanted to get younger this offseason, and embrace a sort of reset they hope will help them in the long run. 

“We had to get younger and we had to get a little cheaper because we had some plans on what we wanted to do with our core and, obviously, our quarterback,” Lynch said. “And there were some twists and turns, but we executed a plan that we needed to, and we’re really excited with the way it all came together.”