SANTA CLARA — John Lynch made it very clear that the 49ers will not entertain any trade offers for star pass rusher Nick Bosa, no matter who reaches out to the club.
“Yeah, that hotline's closed,” the 49ers general manager said Monday during his pre-2023 NFL Draft availability. “That never opened.”
Lynch has shared several times during the offseason that he is as impatient as the 49ers Faithful in wanting to lock in the reigning Defensive Player of the Year for the foreseeable future. Still, the GM is confident it won't be long before the club finalizes a long-term contract extension for Bosa.
“We're going to focus on this draft and then, I've stated many times that's a priority for this offseason,” Lynch said. “History says that we have a really good track record of doing that and making that come to fruition. I'm excited about working on that when the time comes.”
Bosa figures to sign a record-breaking deal for an edge rusher with an annual average in the neighborhood of $30 million per year. Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt currently holds the highest annual average salary of $28 million, with Bosa’s older brother Joey earning the second highest yearly payday of $27 million.
The 49ers have a pattern of signing mega-extensions with their star players, like Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Fred Warner, closer to the start of the season, during training camp. Bosa’s impending record-breaker of a deal likely will have the same timeline.
Though many NFL players refuse to participate in the offseason program while waiting for their contract extensions to be worked out, that is not the case with Bosa. The talented pass rusher remains in Florida training with his brother, but that is what they have done every offseason.
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Neither Lynch nor coach Kyle Shanahan are concerned with the younger Bosa’s absence from team activities. They believe that when the time comes, the Ohio State product will return to the team facility, as expected.
Until then, the 49ers have some number crunching to do.