Many were surprised when 49ers running back Raheem Mostert publicly requested a trade through his agent in early July.
That included General Manager John Lynch, who was shocked … and steam was coming out of his ears.
“My reaction was, ‘What the hell are you doing? Let’s go now,'” Lynch said this week on KNBR. “I wasn’t happy.”
All parts are presumably fine now. Mostert, whose featured season last year came months after he signed a three-year extension, received a signing bonus and added incentives to his deal this week that could almost double his $ 2.875 million salary in 2020.
Lynch emphasized that there are no hard feelings for Mostert’s trade request, which came via a tweet from his agent, Brett Tessler, on July 8. But Lynch, who has helped plug the once-abundant leaks from the 49ers’ facility, was irritated. Some dirty laundry was aired.
“Now, I love Raheem and I love his family,” said Lynch. “… Sometimes it’s frustrating during these (negotiations). But I was a player, so I understand that you don’t speak directly to a player. You’re talking to an agent.
“And sometimes I think that is why there may be things lost in communication. So what we finally did (review your contract), we always plan to do. So it’s frustrating that that had to happen. But the cooler heads had to prevail and we had to understand that Raheem is a very important player for our team. “
Eric Branch covers the 49ers for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Eric_Branch
