An hour after ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the 49ers were looking to trade former All-Pro linebacker NaVorro Bowman, the team announced his release Friday afternoon. The move led many to immediately speculate that Bowman didn’t generate significant interest on the trade market, and that general manager John Lynch was forced to either release Bowman, or keep the unhappy veteran on the roster.
But that wasn’t exactly the case according to Lynch who spoke to reporters shortly after the news broke. Lynch said that there were a few teams interested in getting a deal done, but that the 49ers ultimately elected not to pull the trigger, as Bowman did not want to go to any of the potential destinations.
John Lynch: Even in short time frame, “we talked to every team in the league.” Only a few interested, but Bowman didn’t like those options
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) October 13, 2017
Lynch basically just said they had a trade and Bowman said no. Wow. Not many teams would have done that for the player
— John Middlekauff (@JohnMiddlekauff) October 13, 2017
Kyle Shanahan says that he and John Lynch wanted NaVorro “to pick what team he wanted,” hence the release
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) October 13, 2017
The decision shows the respect that Lynch and the 49ers organization has for Bowman, who will go down as one of the greatest linebackers in team history. Lynch also reiterated that “it’s the honest to god truth” that the 49ers did not shop Bowman in the offseason as was previously reported, and that Bowman was aware that his playing time was going to continue to be cut if he stayed with the team.
Lynch also said that rookie Reuben Foster will take over as the team’s starting middle linebacker when fully healthy.