The 49ers are never far from trade chatter, but John Lynch says the team has to do the work on the field before expecting a major in-season addition.
That idea sits at the center of San Francisco’s approach under Lynch, who said in an interview with The San Francisco Standard that midseason moves are something a team has to earn. He repeated the point twice in the same answer: “I think the approach I take with that is that’s kind of earned by a team to put yourself in position. I think the approach I take with that is that’s kind of earned by a team to put yourself in position.”
Lynch compared the way teams talk about trades in the NFL to how they’re viewed in baseball, where deals have long been part of the conversation.
"You hear a lot about that in baseball, probably more so than our game, because I think trades were more prevalent in baseball for a long time.
"If you look at like the last 10 years of our league, people have traded much more freely and used to kind of be an anomaly in the NFL when people would make an addition midseason. It just didn’t happen.
"It happens a lot more now. We’ve been part of that and we’ve added cornerstone players, Trent and Christian.
We’ve added players that have had great impact. Emmanuel Sanders, Charles Omenihu.
Keion White last year.
"It doesn’t always have to be the household name, but these guys have helped us along the way. I think a little bit that, and that’s not like a charge to a team, hey, you want us to keep adding, go earn it, but that’s just a reality of this league.
"Put yourself in position and then if it fits and the deal’s right, then yeah, but I do believe that is earned, and so we all have to go do exactly that, earn it, and then we can make a decision.”
The 49ers have been tied to plenty of big names, including Trey Hendrickson, Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby last year, but none of those players ended up in San Francisco. The Garrett situation stood out in particular, with the Los Angeles Rams sending a first, second and third-round pick, along with an edge rusher, to the Cleveland Browns - a package the 49ers could have matched.
Even with that caution from Lynch, the rumors themselves point to a clear truth: San Francisco was seen as a team that needed help at edge rusher, and adding one of the top pass rushers was viewed as a real way to strengthen the roster.
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