‘No guarantees’ for 49ers — and that includes Brock Purdy

INDIANAPOLIS — For 49ers general manager John Lynch, it’s the offseason of Brock Purdy, the 25-year-old quarterback who’s eligible for a massive contract extension. Every move that Lynch makes and every press gathering that he conducts will be examined through the QB lens.

It was no surprise, then, that both of Lynch’s interview sessions on Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine — one at the lectern in front of a larger crowd and one with only local reporters present — were dominated by Purdy talk.

Lynch opened saying the 49ers have begun negotiations with the quarterback’s camp before clarifying that those discussions remain in their “infancy.”

“We’re already having good discussions,” he said. “They’ve got their thoughts. We’ve got our thoughts. Just gotta try to make it a reality. He’s played really well — and we know that. We have every intention of making him our guy and it’s just about coming to an agreement. The great news with the [NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement] and all that: He’s going to be with us.”

He then continued with a note of caution: “There’s no guarantees — but we’re going to endeavor to get it done.” So, consider that the first piece of public posturing from the 49ers in what’s shaping up to be an intense process.

Purdy remains under contract with the team through 2025 at a rate of just over $5 million, a fraction of the projected value of his new deal. The fact that Lynch dared to mention the possibility of no agreement — as thorny as that’d be for both sides (a Purdy holdout or hold-in could have disastrous consequences for the team) — is a signal that the 49ers are digging in for tough negotiations ahead.

There’s a simple reason behind that. Money is at a premium. The 49ers have ranked near the top of the league in cash spent over the past decade. While they’ve managed to maintain salary-cap solvency in the process, ruthless cost efficiency is now a mandatory part of their formula to keep it that way.

The team already asked established stalwarts Arik Armstead and Kyle Juszczyk to take significant pay cuts last year (only Juszczyk said yes; Armstead was released after he refused). They’re also ready to oblige wide receiver Deebo Samuel’s trade request, with Lynch citing “financial constraints” as one motivation to do so. The 49ers stand to save nearly $17 million by moving on from Samuel, who’s entering the final year of his contract.

“He’s asked for a fresh start and I think we’re going to honor that,” Lynch said. “There’s a lot of love, respect, shared experiences there. It’s difficult to let go of that. But time happens, and if it makes sense for both sides — you at least give it a chance.”

Even those thoughts about Samuel have a strong Purdy-related undercurrent, as it’s clear that the receiver isn’t a stylistic fit with the team’s QB of the present and future. Purdy — who pushes the ball downfield more aggressively than any previous 49ers’ quarterback of this era — pairs better with separators than bulldozers, and Samuel falls into the latter category. That’s the unstated reason why Lynch said a divorce “makes sense.”

But finances trump all in a salary-capped league, and that’s why the 49ers will likely try to drive a hard bargain with Purdy.

“Everything is tied to everything, particularly when you’re talking about a position like the quarterback position and the effect it has on your entire team,” Lynch said. “It can lift your entire team, but it can affect your entire team. We’ll see where that goes. Our intention is to have a really good team around [Purdy] — whatever that entails. But [the precise size and structure of his contract will] have an impact.”

Juszczyk’s future, for one, is again in question. The fullback has been a 49ers fixture since 2017, but Lynch couldn’t guarantee that the 49ers would be able to afford his $4.6 million contract in 2025.

“We’ll see,” Lynch said. “We’re thinking of a lot of things right now. We’re trying to make everything work with some tighter constraints than we’ve had in the past.”

That’s what makes the 2025 NFL Draft, which is coming in two months, particularly important. The Combine is the table-setter for that main event, which serves as the only avenue through which teams can add premium talent on a cost-controlled basis (the NFL’s rookie wage scale dictates preset contracts for all drafted players).

The 49ers sang a similar tune leading up to the 2024 draft, and first-year returns indicate that they picked well. Draftees Ricky Pearsall, Renardo Green, Dominick Puni, and Malik Mustapha all showed true promise as rookies. But Lynch spent much of Wednesday emphasizing that the 49ers’ cramped financial situation means that there’s pressure for an encore.

“We’ve had high cash spend, and at some point you have to recalibrate a bit,” Lynch said. “You can’t just keep pressing the pedal. But I think there’s some good that can come out of it. I think we need to get younger. We were the oldest team in football trying to make a run at it last year.

“I think it’s good to constantly try to get younger — and our draft class last year was a great move towards that. We’ll have four picks in the top 100. We’re excited about adding more youth to the great core of players we already have.”

The central part of that core, of course, is Purdy. How exactly the 49ers work through their current bind to reach agreement with him remains to be seen — but it’s clearly permeating most of the 49ers’ process at this point.

Lynch shared some other nuggets about the state of the team during his two interview sessions Wednesday, starting with some context to Tuesday’s news that Mick Lombardi is replacing Brian Griese, who voluntarily stepped down as the team’s QB coach.

Lynch said that Griese gave the 49ers a three-year commitment when he came aboard in 2022, the same season the team drafted Purdy. “Other things like family were pulling at him,” Lynch said. “He made a tough decision but one that he believes is best for his family.”

Griese had never coached prior to leaving an ESPN broadcasting gig and joining the 49ers’ staff. But by all accounts, he brought tremendous value to what was an exceptionally young QB room featuring Purdy and second-year man Trey Lance. Griese’s stature as a former quarterback — he was Tom Brady’s predecessor in college at Michigan and John Elway’s successor under coach Mike Shanahan with the Denver Broncos — proved to be an excellent guidepost for the newcomers. He helped teach them how to handle the inevitable rollercoaster of playing the most important position in the cutthroat world of the NFL.

When former No. 3 overall pick Sam Darnold joined the 49ers as a backup in 2023, he lauded how Griese’s instruction boosted his confidence in the huddle.

“Griese has been awesome for me when it comes to having that mindset of, ‘OK, when I step in that huddle, I am the leader,’” Darnold said that season. “If guys have questions, they should feel confident in me that I know the answer.”

Darnold, who’d floundered over five seasons with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers up to that point, revived his career with the 49ers. He helmed the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-3 finish in 2024.

Purdy’s success speaks even more loudly, and it’s worth noting that Griese was one of his biggest advocates in the building leading up to the 2022 draft.

Lombardi, Griese’s 36-year-old replacement, figures to bring a more schematically-oriented background to the table. And perhaps that’s what Purdy, who’s now an accomplished veteran and unquestioned locker room leader, can use most in the next chapter of his development.

Lombardi served as the Raiders’ offensive coordinator for two seasons before joining the 49ers’ staff in 2024. He was previously with the Patriots, serving as New England’s assistant QB coach in 2019 — Tom Brady’s final season there.

“To have a guy like Mick Lombardi in house, that gives you a really good feeling,” Lynch said. “He’s done it before. He’s been in quarterback rooms. He’s coached really good ones. He has that coordinating background. He’s been around football a lot.”

The 49ers also officially promoted Klay Kubiak, who served as assistant QB coach early in Griese’s tenure, to offensive coordinator. Kubiak will also continue working with Purdy and his fellow quarterbacks.

The 49ers are banking on the return of star left tackle Trent Williams, who missed the back stretch of 2024 with an ankle injury. “He’s ready and he’s really motivated to come back,” Lynch said. “That’s rarified air that Trent lives in. I think we’re going to see a real motivated Trent Williams.”

Still, it seems likely that the 49ers will use this draft to select an offensive tackle. They own the No. 11 overall pick, their highest selection since 2020. Given the fact that Williams is 36 and that right tackle Colton McKivitz is entering his final year under contract, the 49ers must insulate both current depth and their future prospects at that critical position.

Lynch said the 49ers will target versatile linemen who can play both tackle and guard. They needed one such talent to close the 2024 season: Guard Spencer Burford moved to left tackle from guard just so the 49ers could reach the finish line.

“We’re a lot better when Trent Williams plays, so that would be a good first step,” Lynch said. “But then you try to get deeper and we’ll look hard in the draft. I think this notion that we don’t care [about the O-line] — we care very much about it. … And I think there’s some talent there, a lot of different flavor.”

Lynch expects Christian McCaffrey to be back at a high level in 2025. The star running back is healthy following recovery from a PCL sprain and will partake in the 49ers’ offseason program, although Lynch said the team would be “judicious” about his level of involvement.

Meanwhile, receiver Brandon Aiyuk will revisit Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed surgery to repair his torn ACL and MCL, over the coming weeks. The “marker” visit should give the 49ers a firmer timeline for when Aiyuk, who suffered his knee injury in October, could return. That’ll be key insight for the team ahead of April’s draft.

Lynch is optimistic that Aiyuk may even be ahead of schedule. He said that linebacker Curtis Robinson, who also tore his ACL last season, recently went through the marker and “crushed it”.

Robinson is scheduled to become a restricted free agent next month. So is running back Jordan Mason, one of McCaffrey’s backups. Lynch said the 49ers are still considering an array of options, including a standard extension and various levels of RFA tenders, for Mason.

No, the 49ers aren’t cutting Jake Moody at this point, but Lynch did acknowledge that the team may bring in competition for the embattled kicker this offseason.

Most importantly, he emphasized that Moody’s high ankle sprain was to blame for his struggles. Moody made 14-of-15 field goals before the October injury before connecting on only 11-of-20 after it.

“We still have a lot of belief in him, and we believe the injury had a lot to do with that,” Lynch said. “We maybe kicked ourselves for letting him come back [too early]. It’s really an odd injury. We’ve consulted soccer teams, we’ve consulted with everybody.”

If the 49ers do bring in kicking competition for Moody, who’s still under contract for two more seasons, Lynch said he has faith that the former third-round draft pick will prevail.

“We have belief in Jake that he will rise to the top,” Lynch said.

Lynch said the 49ers are in contact with representatives for linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga, both of whom are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents next month. There even seems to be hope that the 49ers can re-sign Greenlaw before the new league year’s legal tampering window opens March 10.

“Hopefully we come to agreement before free agency,” Lynch said. “We’ll see.”

At the Pro Bowl earlier this month, 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa relayed that new defensive coordinator Robert Saleh was “adamant” about the team re-signing Greenlaw. Lynch laughed when a reporter brought that up.

“That wasn’t in his negotiations,” Lynch said. “But we know what Saleh thinks of Greenlaw. He was part of drafting him.”

That happened in 2019, during Saleh’s first stint as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator. He’s back now after a protracted negotiation that had Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan sweating for weeks. Saleh has aspirations to be a head coach again and the 49ers had to wait for multiple such opportunities to fall through before Saleh signed on with them as defensive coordinator.

“I told Saleh, ‘I feel like sloppy eighths,’” Lynch said, laughing again. “But it feels like he never left.”