President of Football Operations/General Manager John Lynch Press Conference

President of Football Operations/General Manager John Lynch

Press Conference – August 28, 2024

San Francisco 49ers

There were some national reports or suggestions that WR Brandon Aiyuk was going to practice today. To your knowledge, is he going to be out there?

“We’ll see. I think you’ll see right with me. I know he’s here today and that’s the expectation.”

When was the decision made and when was he examined to make, to see if his back?

“We don’t get into those details. That’s medical stuff. But, he has been cleared and we’re ready to roll.”

Is that the only dynamic that’s changed here that would make him practice today?

“Yeah, in theory. Yeah.”

If he does not practice, chooses not to, will he be fined?

“Then we’ll deal with that.”

You told us you’re impatient and this thing has really dragged on. Is this just driving you crazy?

“Yeah. Fortunately there’s 90 players here, there’s pre-season games, there’s the work of getting better and that goes into putting a team together. But no question about it. When you’ve got some of your better players, two of them in particular that aren’t out there, and that’s your job, you take a lot of pride in that. I think, one thing, we’ve got a lot of really good players and we’ve rewarded a lot of good players and that makes things tougher at times. I remain optimistic. We’ll find a way to put the best squad out there and I’m really happy with where this team is at and what we do have to offer. The players out here that have been here are working really hard. We’ve got a lot of love for the two guys that aren’t and we’ll continue to work on that to try to bring that to a resolution.”

Is there anything new with the T Trent Williams situation?

“No, there’s no updates there. There’s good communication. We’re constantly working, throwing out ideas to try to have a breakthrough and it just hasn’t happened yet.”

Is there good communication between you and Brandon?

“Yeah, there’s communication and it’s been ongoing with Brandon, with his representative. On that one as well, we just haven’t been able to break through.”

I asked head coach Kyle Shanahan a couple weeks ago, with this team as close to a Super Bowl as you obviously were last year, can you say this franchise is putting up enough money or financial commitment to make sure you have the best chance this year?

“First of all, Tim, I don’t think you can ever make an assumption that you’re ready for a Super Bowl. You’ve got to earn that every year. Nothing is given in this league. We have a very talented team. We have a very proven team that’s won a lot of games. But this is a new team. We like our team. We feel like we’ve improved. And yeah, this team has never fallen short on resources. Since we’ve been here we’ve been one of the top spenders in the league and I think there’s reason for that. We’ve got a lot of good players. Our talent acquisition has worked, whether it be through the Draft, whether it be through trade. And as a result we’ve had a lot of top players in the league at their respective positions. So that’s a good thing. But it does make things tougher. Those are our challenges. Those are the things we have to deal with.”

Going back to Trent Williams, has he threatened to retire at any point in this?

“I’m not getting into, I’ve always said that personal conversations and things like that aren’t ever going to get told to everyone. Those are private conversations. So, I won’t get into private conversations that Trent and I, and Trent and our organization have had.”

Given your friendship, relationship with Brandon’s agent, has that changed the dynamic at all? Have you had to step aside at all through this?

“No. You never know how that’s going to play out. [Athletes First agent] Ryan [Williams] was my marketing guy for a bunch of years. A lot of people say, ‘He’s your agent.’ Well, my last couple deals I’ve done with [CEO] Jed [York] directly, that’s how I’ve handled my business. That’s worked well for me. There is a friendship there. But, I’ve got a lot of friendships in this league with agents that have developed over time.”

It seems like you saw this standoff with Brandon Aiyuk coming a few months ago. Did the Trent Williams situation surprise you?

“I don’t know that I saw the standoff with Brandon. I saw a situation that we were going to have to deal with and man, we’ve been trying for a long time. We don’t get paid to try. We get paid to do. And I’ll take accountability for anything that hasn’t happened. But I won’t stop continuing to fight to find the best resolution, whatever that may be. The Trent situation, things come up. And this has come up. Trent is a fantastic player. He’s a tremendous leader on this team. I will never fall short on my praise of Trent and what he’s meant to this place. It was a great day, when I got that call from [former NFL head coach Ron] Rivera saying that they would do that trade. He’s been incredible since he’s been here. We value Trent, we love Trent, we want Trent here. And I’m hopeful that can happen soon.”

With Brandon, has it gotten to a point where you’re waiting to see if he’ll practice today. It sounds like he could be disciplined if he doesn’t start practicing. It doesn’t sound great. Are you disappointed that it’s kind of got to this level?

“Yeah, sure. But I’ve seen these things look dire before and they can quickly turn. So that gives you hope, that we’ve been in these situations before and those things can quickly be forgotten. We will remain hopeful.”

Was it communicated to Brandon’s camp at any point, say in the last few weeks, that he would be expected to practice starting today?

“I’m not going to get into our communication, again. But at some point, you have to play.”

Is the addition of WR Terrace Marshall Jr. in any way Aiyuk insurance? They play kind of boundary X receiver spots.

“That’s just a good football player we were very fortunate to get in the building. I don’t know what went on in Carolina. I know that I got on the phone with Terrace, along with [wide receivers coach] Leonard Hankerson and Kyle and just told him about the way we do things, what we thought of him coming out of college and that this could be a great landing spot for him. He’s going to have to earn everything, but it’s a fun place for receivers to come and thrive. Whatever your best is, I think you’ll find it here. We’re excited for that opportunity, excited for our practice squad. It’s tough to lose players. [Los Angeles Rams RB Cody] Schrader, man I love that kid and everything he represented, the way he attacked it. [Indianapolis Colts CB] Sammy Womack [III] had a really good offseason, was proud of him. I think we’re deeper than we’ve been at corner. And so, those are tough decisions that you have to make. One more, [Carolina Panthers OL] Jarrett Kingston. Jarrett was doing some really good things. You can’t keep everyone. Really proud of this rookie draft class. There’s been some injuries, but I think we’re getting healthy and we’ve got the right type of people, the right type of players, that are fits here. They’re going to help us a lot. So a lot to be happy with, with our roster. We’ll continue to work to get it complete and can’t wait for Levi’s to be rocking here. And what are we, 10 days out, nine days out? It’s coming.”

At tight end, it seemed like when you drafted TE Cameron Latu last year, you knew that he might be a bit of a project. Did that go more slowly than you expected? Why cut ties with him two years in?

“Cam did a great job. Had two knee surgeries in his time here. But, couldn’t have asked for anything more in terms of his work ethic. I think we just kind of, you fall into some good players. [TE Eric] Saubert is a guy that we went out and got in free agency, really has been a nice find for us both at tight end and at special teams. [TE] Jake Tonges has been really, I’d say, a surprise and played really well. [TE] Brayden Willis was a tough cut, but he’s back on our practice squad. I think there was just tough competition. Cam can do a lot of good things. I saw he landed on, I believe, Cleveland’s practice squad. I’m excited for him and his opportunities. The thing everyone liked about Cam coming in is he could do a little bit of everything. And it takes, I always tell players, it took me until my third year to start in this league, and things went pretty well. It happens at different times for different players. You want to be able to hold on, but when you’ve got a roster, sometimes you have to make tough decisions. And that was certainly a tough one, because Cam gave us everything he had.”

I don’t think we’ve seen the final 53-man moves yet today. Are you still planning on keeping TE Logan Thomas around that room?

“We’ll see. Logan is a guy that, unfortunately, had a hamstring injury during camp. We like what Logan brings to the table and we’re in contact with him. We’ll see what breaks. There’s still a couple more final practice squad spots.”

Earlier today on KNBR, former NFL S Donte Whitner said that tonight he’s going to watch film with S Malik Mustapha and try to get him ready for Week One. You’re a Hall-of-Fame safety, would you watch film with Mustapha? Can you help bring him along? He’s a talented guy.

“He’s doing alright. It’s always awesome when you think you see something on film and then you see it in person and it’s even better. Kyle talks a lot about something that I tried to live in my career, you want to play with no hesitation. And when Malik sees something, he goes and gets it, and he can go get it in a hurry. And it’s not perfect yet. It shouldn’t be perfect, he’s a rookie. But man, he’s been impressive. He’s going to make an impact on this team. I think we can all see that. He plays fast, he plays physical. He’s a Niner and we’re really excited about what’s to come. And he’s got a long way to go, Malik knows that. But he’s a worker. [Defensive backs coach] Danny Bullocks is doing a really good job. Love that guys like Donte are around. Malik is a historian too. [Pro Football Hall of Famer] Ronnie [Lott] was over here a couple weeks ago and man, he was like a kid in a candy store, seeing Ronnie Lott. Some of the guys embarrassingly enough, didn’t know who he was. Malik sure knew who he was.”

Have you made roster moves today to the 53-man?

“Nothing today.”

How fulfilling is it to see OL Dominick Puni? I tlooks like Kyle basically said he’s the starting right guard.

“I’ll leave that to Kyle. But he’s been really good.”

WR Jacob Cowing and RB Isaac Guerendo is a little banged up, but to see this Draft class kind of produce immediately. What’s that been like?

“We thought we really hit on this Draft class, and that remains to be. I always tell people ask me a couple years down the line. [WR] Ricky’s [Pearsall] going to be a really good football player. He’s had some health challenges. Ricky’s a good player. Puni, the way he stepped in. [CB] Rernardo Green, he’s everything we thought he would be. He gets up, he competes, he’s sticky. Puni stepping right in. What we loved about Puni was his versatility. He played a lot of different spots, played a lot of football. Man, that’s a guy that I’d be lying if I haven’t said he’s better than what I even thought he might be. Our style, the way we get out and run, it takes a little time, but he just took to it. He’s still got a lot more in the tank. So he’s doing a really good job. Our three fourth-rounders, Guerendo, Mustapha, and Cowing, all of them explosive, bring speed. They’re playmakers. So these guys are all doing really well. We’re proud of this group, but they’ve got a long way to go.”

With Kingston and obviously not being able to keep him on that 53-man roster, was that a numbers issue up front or were you guys more focused on keeping experienced linemen?

“We wanted to. We ran out of numbers. You play the waiting game and think maybe we can sneak them through. It didn’t work. So those ones hurt.”

Along those lines, how relieved were you that you were able to bring back OL Drake Nugent, the center?

“Drake’s doing a really nice job. He is showing that it’s not too big for him. At this level, center’s a tough position because there’s a lot mentally put on him. Drake’s done a really nice job there. He will be on our practice squad, have every opportunity to get better. But we’re happy to have him in the building.”

Was there a trepidation to expose QB Tanner Mordecai to waivers? How did that quarterback discussion go?

“Yeah, we feel like we have four really good ones. And unfortunately, or maybe a good thing for us, Tanner didn’t get as many reps in the preseason as we would’ve liked for him to get because I think those two guys, [QB Joshua] Dobbs and [QB] Brandon [Allen] were fighting out that. So we wanted to let that play out. Tanner’s a talented kid. We’re happy that he’s on our practice squad. We’re excited to work with him.”

Do you guys have a timeframe for when S Talanoa Hufanga would be capable of going and playing in a game?

“We’re going to be judicious, going to be smart. He’s done a fabulous job with his rehab and he’s been doing everything he can to the side. Today’s a big step, get him back at practice. I think Kyle said earlier, we’ll get him through individual, won’t throw too much. You kind of like to phase that in. Will he be ready Week One? Not sure. I think it’s going to be tight, but I think it’s telling that we made the decision not to keep him on PUP, bring him off and we expect him somewhere early in the season. So, real proud of Huff and his progress. He makes us a better team, so be great to have him.”

You guys kept OL Jon Feliciano on the roster. Kyle said, I think it was last week, that he’s dealing with some injuries, that it might be a couple weeks that he might be IR designated. What went into the decision to put him on the 53?

“Well, when you do that IR to return, you have to put him on for a day. So that’s what we did with Jon. We’ll have that opportunity to bring him back at some point.”