As the league has begun making the necessary changes to ensure the safety of players and fans for the 2020 season, so have the San Francisco 49ers, who have undergone countless modifications to their facilities, practice schedule, and structure. from the list due to the effects of COVID-19. Some of those changes include the charge of General Manager John Lynch of putting together a Super Bowl caliber roster in the midst of a pandemic.
Lynch was a guest on KNBR’s Murph & Mac radio show to discuss various updates as the team prepares for training camp, which will begin this week. Here are five conclusions from the 49ers general manager.
The 49ers received some tough news over the summer when their up-and-coming catcher Deebo Samuel suffered a broken left foot during a private training session. Samuel was expected to have a great season in year 2, after recording an impressive 484 yards after the catch during the regular season, good for fifth place in the league, while ranking third with an average of 8.5 yards later. of the catch.
The wideout is reportedly expected to lose 12 to 16 weeks, with the potential to miss the start of the regular season. While Lynch did not set a timeline for Samuel’s return, he did share optimism in the rehabilitation process and the prospects for the receiver in 2020.
“Unfortunately, (it was) a strange treatment where he went to make a cut and (suffered) a Jones fracture in the foot. That was a blow,” Lynch said. “But I think you always try to be optimistic. The good news is that it happened when it happened. Could we be without him a little bit at the beginning of the season? Yes. Sometimes these things heal at a different rate. They keep watching him. He’s doing it. Okay, so it’s not going to put an exact timeline, but I think it’s fair to say that you might miss some games earlier in the year, but we’ll get it back sometime.
“I know his rehab is going very well. He is working very diligently and he still intends to have a great year for us. And that is the good news.”
Samuel performed at the SAP Performance Facility last week alongside the team’s quarterbacks, rookies, and injured players for COVID testing and was placed on the Active / Non-Soccer Related Injury List upon entering camp.
With Samuel potentially wasting time before the regular season, the 49ers will have to lean on their existing talent on the roster to intensify their absence. The 49ers no longer have Emmanuel Sanders, a proven and veteran presence, who signed with the New Orleans Saints this offseason. Despite missing two of his best scorers from a season ago, Lynch revealed that the 49ers are satisfied with their current group of scorers, including those returning from 2019 injuries.
The 49ers had neither Trent Taylor nor Jalen Hurd last season, and both were expected to play key roles on offense. After a featured performance during training camp last year, Taylor suffered a stress fracture in his foot that required the recipient to undergo five corrective procedures throughout the year. Hurd, who made a strong debut in the 49ers’ preseason game with a two-touchdown performance, dealt with a stress fracture in his back that caused the receiver to never see the field in 2019. Since then, both scorers have been removed for field activities heading to the training ground. Dante Pettis joins a group of catchers that the 49ers are eager to recover by 2020.
“You put those guys in and when you get Deebo back, we feel great,” Lynch continued. “Could there be a gap because Emmanuel Sanders brought in that veterans presence? Maybe. And that’s what’s hard about the salary cap, you can’t have everyone.”
“But we feel really good about our catchers class and some of these guys are clearly going to have to step up. But they are totally capable of doing it. So we really like our depth there. It’s just that these guys have to Appear”. and we hope you take advantage of that opportunity. “
It was announced that the 49ers restructured a deal with running back Raheem Mostert this week. Mostert led the team with 772 rushing yards and 10 total touchdowns in 2019 (eight runs, two receptions). He also added 336 yards on the ground and five touchdowns in the 49ers to three postseason clashes, including his franchise-leading 220-yard performance in the NFC Championship Game. According to the general manager, there is no “bad blood” between the parties and the 49ers expect the broker to continue his success in 2020.
“I was a player once, so you get it,” Lynch said. “We had to understand that Raheem is a very important player to our team and the way he came last year was a great reason why we were in the Super Bowl and the success of our team. We believe in rewarding our players who play well (and) do well. And that’s something we wanted to do. “
Aggregate competition in West NFC
The Seattle Seahawks made a successful trade over the weekend to acquire safety Jamal Adams from the New York Jets to bolster their defense. An elite and multifaceted talent, Adams is widely recognized as one of the league’s most effective defenders.
While many teams speculate in the NFC West have tried to counter San Francisco star tight end George Kittle, Lynch expressed confidence in the 49ers roster to offset recent changes across the division.
“You must first win your division to be successful in this league,” said Lynch. “You look at some of the deals Arizona has made. You look at Seattle now. I think a lot of people say, ‘Okay, we have to go get San Francisco.'” This is how these things work: you want to play against the best.
“So yeah, our division is getting better. We understand that. That’s why we’re working so hard to get better. I’m really proud of our offseason. We added a guy like Trent Williams. We added Javon Kinlaw and Brandon Aiyuk. We’re very excited about the location of our team despite all the challenges, we are ready for that. We are made for that. “
The veterans began their required COVID test this week, which includes San Francisco’s star tight end. Lynch revealed that he has been in “very good communication” with Kittle’s reps and hopes the tight end will be available for camp.
“George is a professional and he plans to come,” said Lynch. “And we will continue to work towards it. I would be disappointed if we did not. We are working for that and there are no updates at the moment, but we are seriously working because it is very important to us and it is very important to him because he loves being a 49er “.
