San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aaron Lynch may officially have run out of opportunities to prove himself.
In a tweet on Friday, Grant Cohn of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat had Lynch atop his list of Trent Baalke draft picks that the Niners may cut this offseason. When pressed further on why by a follower, Cohn revealed that Lynch reported to the team 20 pounds overweight.
Baalke draft picks the 49ers may cut:
1. A. Lynch
2. V. McDonald
3. Bell
4. Smelter
5. Burbridge
6. Ellington
7. Harold
8. Reaser
9. Iworah— Grant Cohn (@grantcohn) May 5, 2017
@grantcohn Why do you feel A. Lynch might get cut? I thought he's actually performed well when healthy?
— East Bay Chris (@BayAreaSports89) May 5, 2017
He's a cool 20 pounds overweight. https://t.co/Nf3XT3Ehi9
— Grant Cohn (@grantcohn) May 5, 2017
The sad part is that this actually constitutes progress from last season, when Lynch showed up to training camp 30 pounds overweight (and offered this interesting explanation).
The 24-year-old South Florida product made only seven appearances for San Francisco last season, recording just 13 combined tackles and 1.5 sacks. He missed the first four games of the season due to a drug suspension and also was hobbled by an ankle injury for much of the second half of the year.
The Niners just drafted two impact front-seven players in the first round in Solomon Thomas and Reuben Foster and also signed several others in free agency (most notably, ex-Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith). Thus, they may just have the luxury of deciding that Lynch is no longer worth the headache.
