49ers Front Office Opens Up About 'Tough' Offseason Choices

Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch reflect on the 49ers' offseason mini-rebuild.

Jul 27, 2022; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan (left) and general manager John Lynch watches the players during Training Camp at the SAP Performance Facility near Levi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

For the San Francisco 49ers, changes had to be made this offseason to manage the salary cap and begin a mini-rebuild.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch provided insight into why these decisions were made.

Front office explains losing key players

Dec 12, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw (57) is congratulated by safety Talanoa Hufanga (29) after making a tackle against the Los Angeles Rams in the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

A lot of key players left, especially in the secondary, resulting in a massive $95,505,012 in dead money for the upcoming season.

The front office studied moves by the Los Angeles Rams and the Buffallo Bills, then applied a similar strategy to their roster.

“There are examples [of this kind of retooling] all over,” Shanahan told Sports Illustrated. “I look at some of those players who left their teams—How good were they at that time?Did they get really paid by other teams? Are they going to help other teams?I think we let go of some guyqs that can still really play, and still really do it, so that’s the difference. You always have to make a decision to let go of a guy, usually a year before everyone else can see it, because usually you can see it …

“That’s what was so tough for me personally as a coach, was sitting here in March and knowing it was gonna come, but still hoping we could get lucky,” he continued. “And then having to really sit there and watch someone like Dre Greenlaw leave, someone like ‘Huff’ [Talanoa Hufanga] leave, not being able to afford [Jordan] J.P. Mason. These are really good players, really good people.”

Purdy's contract was a massive implication

Aug 16, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) warms up before a preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The timing of Brock Purdy's rookie contract was coming to an end, signalling a significant chunk of cap space would be awarded to him due to the quarterback market.

Keeping Purdy in San Francisco was always the plan, but his new contract pushed the 49ers to prioritize the draft for defensive rookies while retaining veteran leadership in the locker room.

“Whether it was this year or next year, we knew we had to do that and we did it,” Shanahan says. “And consequences come with that. We had a ton of guys on defense, especially some one-year guys, some older D-linemen, we were trying to keep the window we were [in]. We had to go back to getting more rookies, building through the draft like we had in the past. And the only difference is, we still have some good guys on our roster, not good guys, but some borderline Hall of Fame guys. You still have Fred. You still have Bosa. You still have Kittle. You still have Christian [McCaffrey], and now we’ve added Brock."

Retaining these veterans may prove wise, as they’ve consistently been viewed as long-term cornerstones of the 49ers franchise.

“I think you embrace it, and you’re buoyed by the fact that we have people that we respect that did it,” said Lynch. “The Rams have done a nice job of doing that and never missed a beat and stayed competitive. And then Buffalo, obviously, it helps when you’ve got Josh Allen, but, hey, we’ve got Brock [Purdy] … At some point, you have to pay the piper and this was a year that we needed to cleanse it a little and I think it will give us some flexibility moving forward.”