Reports: 49ers GM John Lynch, Finally addressed Davante Adams Trade….See Details
What Lynch cleverly said when asked about Adams-to-49ers possibility
While a Davante Adams trade to the 49ers seems unlikely, San Francisco general manager John Lynch won’t rule out the possibility.
“We like our group. Davante’s a hell of a player,” Lynch said Friday morning on KNBR’s “Murph & Markus.” “One thing we’ve shown is we’re always looking, we’re never afraid to look and see what’s out there. We’re never afraid to pull the trigger. But I think coming in this year, we feel our roster is in a pretty good spot.
“We have endured some injuries, but we’ll never say never. And it’s got to work. It’s got to work for both sides, but it’s got to work for us. I won’t comment on any specific player but right now we like where our roster is at.”
Adams wants out of Las Vegas after two seasons with the Silver and Black, and the Raiders have informed teams around the league that they are open to trading Adams, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Tuesday.
The All-Pro receiver prefers to reunite with either of his former NFL quarterbacks — Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets or Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints — Schefter reported.
But Adams is open to other destinations, as well. The Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys and 49ers all are among teams that either have inquired about the six-time Pro Bowler or are places Adams would be happy landing, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported Thursday, citing sources informed of Adam’s thinking.
The NFL world has learned Lynch and Co. like to play chess while others play checkers, and his latest comments further prove nothing ever is off the table in Santa Clara.
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What I’m seeing from the San Francisco 49ers: Missing ingredient sticks out like sore Achilles
It doesn’t require much to get fingers hovering over the panic button in San Francisco. And after a pair of September losses, there were a lot of hands inching in that direction.
A win over the New England Patriots has calmed the nerves a bit, but the San Francisco 49ers certainly didn’t look like the juggernaut they were for most of the 2023 season in that game, either.
What can we assess after four games? What are they lacking? What are the positions of concern and areas of hope? Here are a few observations at the almost-quarter mark:
49ers obviously are missing a certain someone
The biggest takeaway after four games is that the 49ers are a different team than the one that started out the 2023 season on a five-game winning streak, especially on offense.
Last year’s squad was ultra-efficient in the red zone, it gobbled up YAC yards in chunks and threw a lot of passes to the tailback. The 2024 version? It ranks 20th in red zone efficiency, 31st in YAC yards per reception and seems reluctant to throw to Jordan Mason out of the backfield.
Last year’s leading scorer was Christian McCaffrey. So far this year it’s Jake Moody — by a wide margin. He’s already kicked 11 field goals, more than half his total (21) last season. Pick up The Athletic 2024 Fantasy Football Guide to read expert evaluations & everything you need to know to win your fantasy football league.
The missing element? It’s sticking out like a sore Achilles. McCaffrey’s absence underscores just how essential he was to the 2023 offense, especially around the goal line. At this point last season he’d already scored seven touchdowns.
The 49ers have been reluctant to offer any sort of timeline for the tailback’s return. They have stressed, however, that they’ll be cautious with his ramp-up, suggesting that it might be another month or so before he’s back. If that’s the case, the storyline for the first half of the season will be how the 49ers have adjusted and evolved to life without McCaffrey.
What does future look like for Jordan Mason?
Yes, this is very much a first-world NFL problem. But what happens to Mason if/when McCaffrey is back in the lineup? As it stands, Mason is the league’s second-leading rusher and it’s hard to fathom where the 49ers would be without his steady running.
Do they make him an every-third-series rusher when McCaffrey is back? Do they make McCaffrey, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, a mere change-of-pace back or third-down specialist?
The 49ers might be able to line up both in the backfield at the same time. They did so with some success during a brief interval in 2022 when Jeff Wilson Jr. and McCaffrey were on the same squad. That worked well because both were good at catching passes out of the backfield. Mason isn’t nearly the same threat as a receiver, which might telegraph San Francisco’s intentions in a two-back situation.
Having both in at running back also would send the best, most versatile fullback in the league, Kyle Juszczyk, to the sideline. (Like we said: first-world problems).
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