Adam Peters has been the right-hand man for 49ers GM John Lynch for the last 10 years.
San Francisco 49ers General Manager John Lynch exercised a trade in 2020 sending DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a first-round draft pick. This set off a domino effect, which in hindsight turned out to be the wrong decision. Lynch knows the importance of having a stout defensive line, and the transaction was supposed to bolster the front for years to come. The problem is hindsight is 20/20, and the 49ers should have kept Buckner instead of going through all of the problems they have suffered through since.
San Francisco 49ers 2020 Trade Rewind
After the trade in 2020, Lynch cited that Buckner’s value had skyrocketed out of range for the San Francisco 49ers. According to Nick Wagoner of ESPN Lynch cited, “It became apparent in the discussions with him that that wasn’t going to be a possibility along with keeping our team together as we wanted to do so.” Buckner went on to sign a 4-year $84 million dollar deal with the Colts.
The 49ers went on to sign a slew of their own free agents, including fellow defensive tackle Arik Armstead to a 5-year $85 million dollar contract extension. The San Francisco 49ers then went on to use the first-round pick that they receive from the Indianapolis Colts on another defensive tackle in Javon Kinlaw.
The thought behind the transactions was that Armstead and Kinlaw would turn into a formidable duo up front, replacing the production that they lost when Buckner left. The problem is that this is not what happened.
Armstead And Kinlaw Struggle To Fill In For Buckner
In the four seasons since the trade, Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw have combined for a total of 19.5 sacks. DeForest Buckner has 32.5 sacks by himself during that same stretch in Indianapolis.
Kinlaw has really struggled to stay healthy throughout his career, battling a nagging knee injury throughout. He underwent reconstructive surgery for his knee in 2021. According to Eric Branch, Kinlaw has missed a total of 26 games throughout his career. He stayed healthy for the entirety of the 2023-2024 campaign, but did not put up jaw-dropping numbers by any means.
Armstead has garnered 14.5 sacks in the four seasons since the trade. These are not the type of numbers someone would expect from a guy making close to $18 million dollars a year. According to Jennifer Lee Chan, Armstead has been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in his foot since midway through the 2022 season. This is an issue that will linger for the rest of his career.
Lynch All But Admits Mistake In Hargrave Signing, Armstead Release, And Kinlaw Departure
GM John Lynch has not said flat-out that he made a mistake, but actions speak louder than words if you’ve been paying attention to recent transactions.
Last offseason, John Lynch and the San Francisco 49ers signed Javon Hargrave from their rival Philadelphia Eagles. Hargrave was signed to a 4-year $84 million dollar deal to come to San Francisco. This is the exact same deal that Buckner received from the Colts, the same one that John Lynch said was out of the 49ers price range.
Arik Armstead was recently released, after discussions between the two sides about a possible pay-cut fell through. This was supposed to be one of the pillars tasked with replacing DeForest Buckner’s absence.
Javon Kinlaw is an unrestricted free agent, after the 49ers decided not to exercise his 5th-year option last offseason. The 2020 first-round pick was supposed to be a force for years to come, but he has been somewhat of an anomaly over the course of his career struggling to stay healthy.
John Lynch could have solved this carousel of replacements for DeForest Buckner by simply re-signing him to begin with. His transactions since then have basically been an admittance to such a claim, and the San Francisco 49ers are still feeling the effects today.
