General manager John Lynch will serve as the 49ers’ voice Wednesday at the NFL scouting combine, which coach Kyle Shanahan is bypassing for a fifth straight year.
What’s publicly said there in Indianapolis certainly doesn’t reveal the true workings of potential deals and top-secret analysis. But here are 10 topics other NFL coaches and general managers have addressed that might factor into the 49ers’ offseason equation:
1. BOSA BROTHERS UNITE?
The Los Angeles Chargers are preaching loyalty toward defensive end Joey Bosa, even though a $36.4 million salary cap number could make him expendable, perhaps via a trade that unites him with younger brother Nick Bosa on the 49ers’ D-line.
“I know he wants to retire a Charger,” Los Angeles general manager Joe Hortiz told Kris Rhim of ESPN. “I’d love for him to retire a Charger. I love Joey – the teammate, the competitor.”
Joey Bosa restructured his contract a year ago, and if he stays for a 10th season, he’s due a $12.4 million roster bonus March 12. Over the past three seasons he’s missed 23 games and totaled 14 sacks, after making the Pro Bowl in four of five previous years and winning AP Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2016. He’s often come to 49ers games in support of his brother, and their mother, Cheryl, recently posted an altered photo on Instagram of the Bosa brothers in 49ers uniforms.
As for defensive end Khalil Mack’s pending free agency, Hortiz added: “ Khalil has never been a free agent in his life and so it might be something where Khalil wants to just say, ‘Hey, I was a free agent, I did it and I came back to LA.’ If it gets to that, that’s my hope.”
2. DEFENSIVE END OPTIONS
Myles Garrett, who succeeded Nick Bosa in 2023 as the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year, does not share mutual feelings with the Browns over his future. He’s requested a trade, and the Browns remain opposed, for now.
General manager Andrew Berry said: “Myles, as you guys have heard me say, is a huge part of our organization, a really good person. He’s an awesome player. I understand the trade request and everything, but our stance really has not changed. We can’t imagine a situation where not having Myles as a part of the organization is best for the Browns.”
The 49ers haven’t shied away from big-time trades, and bulking up on defensive linemen certainly is a strategy that worked for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles this past season. As Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said: “I never feel we have enough O-linemen or D-lineman. Always on the lookout for those positions at every level, whether it’s in free agency, in the draft, after the draft, on the street. It’s really like an unhealthy obsession, to be honest.”
3. WIDE RECEIVER TRADE?
As the 49ers consider trade options that would satisfy wide receiver Deebo Samuel’s request, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini said on her “Scoop City” podcast that “some teams poking around to see if the 49ers would be willing to deal Brandon Aiyuk.” That would be fiscally irresponsible on the 49ers’ part considering Aiyuk, who is still recovering from knee reconstruction, would cost over $62 million against this year’s salary cap if traded, less than a year after signing his massive contract.
Samuel’s exit seems inevitable if not imminent. Among the receiver-needy teams are the Buffalo Bills, whose coach, Sean McDermott, said he seeks a receiver to stretch the field “not just vertically, but horizontally and vertically. … It means taking a short pass and taking it in some good RAC (run-after-catch) yards for us in production.” Bills leading receiver Khalil Shakir agreed to a four-year, $60.2 million extension Monday, NFL Network reported.
Adam Peters, the Washington Commanders’ general manager and the 49ers’ assistant GM 2021-23, declined to comment on Samuel because “he’s on another team,” per The Athletic’s Matt Barrows and NBC Sports Bay Area’s Jennifer Lee Chan. Peters confirmed that defensive tackle Jonathan Allen was allowed to seek a trade. Also, Peters expressed gratitude while announcing the retirement of Martin Mayhew, his predecessor not only as the Commanders’ general manager but as the 49ers’ assistant GM.
4. 49ERS’ RUSHING CORPS
The 49ers’ 2024 season was doomed in large part by Christian McCaffrey’s inability to play the first two months, all due respect to Jordan Mason’s emergence as a lead rusher. That ability to carry multiple running backs is a strategy hailed by Chiefs’ GM Brett Veach.
“You need more than one. It’s a long season. You have to have a good tandem there,” Veach said. “You saw the Niners the last few years, when they were operating at their peak, they had guys like the undrafted free agent (Mason) with McCaffrey, and McCaffrey with Elijah Mitchell. They’ve had a tandem there for a while. Having multiple running backs is a trend that could elevate where those guys go” in this coming draft.
Former 49ers running backs Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. are both set to leave the Miami Dolphins, to which coach Mike McDaniel quipped: “I’m fired up on the incomplete room. The nature of the National Football League, you guys would have to fact check, but I feel like there’s 40% to 60% roster turnover on every team ever year. That’s the nature of our business.”
5. NEW GIG FOR EX-49ERS DC
Steve Wilks, fired a year ago as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator, has resurfaced in that role for the New York Jets. “Steve’s been a guy that I’ve been knowing for a while,” new Jets coach Aaron Glenn said. “A great defensive mind, been a head coach, somebody I can lean on when I have questions about being a head coach. He’s going to do a hell of a job for us. Aggressive. Sees the game exactly like the way I see it when it comes to defense, and that’s one of the reasons why he’s my defense coordinator.”
6. DAVANTE ADAMS HOMECOMING?
Wide receiver Davante Adams’ future could bring the Palo Alto High School product back to the Bay Area and help the 49ers’ corps. However, as the Jets’ Glenn said: “He’s on the team right now, and we’ve got to continue to have conversations about how we’re going to move in that direction. Listen again, we’re in a business of collecting good players, and we’ll see how that goes and moving forward.” Adams is owed $35.6 million salaries each of the past two seasons.
7. QB2 HUNT
As the 49ers dig deeper into contract talks this week for quarterback Brock Purdy’s eventual extension, backups Brandon Allen and Josh Dobbs are headed for free agency, so count the 49ers among those scouring for insurance policies. Asked what he seeks in a backup to Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins coach (and former 49ers offensive coordinator) Mike McDaniel said: “I prioritize people that are adept at passing.“
Allen has been been a valuable resource for Purdy the past two seasons, and the influence of a quarterback room shouldn’t be ignored. McDermott said Josh Allen has benefitted from the Bills’ setup, which included Mitchell Trubisky as last year’s backup: “You want to be happy when you’re coming to work every day, driving down that driveway, and when you like who you’re going into the room with, that’s a big piece.”
8. FREE AGENCY APPROACHES
The defending champion Philadelphia Eagles understandably feel strong about their long-term outlook heading into free agency. “We have a lot of guys in the prime of their careers under long-term contracts,” general manager Howie Roseman said. “We have to do whatever we can to keep this window open for as long as possible. The most important season is this one coming up, 2025. We have to get creative to keep as many good players as we can.”
The Ravens have gone to the playoffs six of the past seven years, and in 12 of John Harbaugh’s 17 seasons as coach. Their approach to free agency? “You guys know the Ravens: Right player, right price. We don’t have a lot of cap room,” general manager Eric DeCosta said. “… You’ve got to draft well every single year so you have an open window.”
Added Lions general manager Brad Holmes: “You want to keep the known good players you don’t want to compromise them to spend on unknowns.”
9. NFC STEPPING STONE
The Green Bay Packers are making a habit of getting eliminated by the eventual NFC champion, from the 49ers last year to the Eagles this year. “Last year, I was here, and you guys were talking, ‘How are we going to catch the San Francisco 49ers?’ This year, I’m sure it’ll be the Eagles. It changes, right? We gotta concentrate on us and be the best we can be. I know with the group we have now and what we’ll add to it, if we do that and we hold our standards high, then I think all those things will be attainable for us, all the goals we have.”
10. FAMILIAR FEELS
“It was a bad day to have a bad day,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said of a mistake-filled loss in the Super Bowl, something the 49ers experienced a year earlier against Kansas City.