The surprising release of 49ers’ former All-Pro linebacker NaVorro Bowman is a tough situation, where no one’s to blame. Bowman, unfortunately, is not the same player after tearing his Achilles tendon last season, on top of his previous knee reconstruction. Bowman also appears reluctant to grasp the reduction in his skills. He has voiced displeasure about his reduced playing time, and on Thursday, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said, ““I would expect Bowman to be the most angry human being in the entire world (when he asked to sit). I would expect nothing else. I would expect him to fight tooth and nail to come off the field and I would expect him to fight tooth and nail to get back on the field. That’s why Bowman is a special football player.””
Bowman’s anger might have grown to such an extent, that the 49ers could no longer keep him on the team, particularly with Ray-Ray Armstrong playing well, rookie sensation Reuben Foster returning from a high ankle sprain, and even Brock Coyle providing some juice in spot play.
He could no longer countenance that he wasn’t the same player and he rebelled against the notion that he should take a back seat to anyone. Bowman’s life-long habit of ignoring injury and insurmountable odds finally worked against him. Just a brief glance a Bowman’s history provides an answer to his reluctance to accept a lesser role.
Bowman once told former linebacker Patrick Willis that he was relieved every time he made it home safely from grade school in his violent District Heights, Maryland neighborhood. Bowman later discovered that the man who said he was his father really wasn’t, and that his real father had been murdered. How many of us can relate to that? How many of us could rise to the top of our profession with that background? Bowman did it with a blood-filled will that could turn boulders into gravel.
Why wouldn’t he approach his Achilles tendon tear rehabilitation with the same fervor and intensity? He obviously did, but what his will wouldn’t let him recognize was his physical diminishment. That attitude clashed with a new regime that only keeps veteran players if A) they can still play and B) if they can provide locker room leadership.
The 49er likely determined that Bowman couldn’t do either. What kind of repercussions that has to team chemistry remains to be seen. But it is in keeping with the release of pass rusher Ahmad Brooks and wide receiver Jeremy Kerley. A veteran on this burgeoning team must be significantly better than the young players behind him, and he must add to the overall team effort.
With losing, there inevitably comes a shake up of personnel. Coach Kyle Shanahan said more than once that dealing with losing is not everybody and not everyone can deal with it. What made NaVorro Bowman great no longer fit into what the 49ers are right now, that’s why there’s no one to blame here. No one can blame Bowman for his physical and mental fortitude, and no one can blame the 49ers for recognizing that the force that made Bowman so special, no longer worked for them any longer.
In the end this a difficult situation, but one that appeared to be inevitable.