Why is Aaron Lynch overweight? “Going out places, taking my wife out, things like that.”

SANTA CLARA

Aaron Lynch spoke with Bay Area Reporters after OTAs Tuesday afternoon. Here’s a transcript.

Q: How has the offseason been going for you, learning the new scheme and where you fit into it?

LYNCH: It’s fun. Got my hand in the dirt a lot more now. Get to be a defensive end, not much dropping. It’s a lot of fun. Play fast.

Q: Are you solely playing that Leo spot or are they moving you to the big end as well?

LYNCH: So far, yeah, I’ve just been playing Leo, not much big end.

Q: Are you pretty happy to specialize as a pass rusher? Do you think that’s where you fit best?

LYNCH: I love being a pass rusher. I wouldn’t say that’s where I best fit. It’s what the coaches think. Either I play big end, I play D-tackle, I play linebacker, I play whatever. But Leo is a lot of d— fun, so yeah, I like it a lot.

Q: What makes it so d— fun?

LYNCH: You just to set the edge and get to go get the quarterback.

Q: But you have to wait to go get the quarterback until preseason. Has that been kind of hard?

LYNCH: Yeah, it’s tough, not being in pads. You go only as fast as the next person does. It’s tough, but we’re basically in pads without pads. But you really can’t go like you want to go as far as physically.

Q: Are you in better physical shape than last year at this time?

LYNCH: At this time right now? I would say I am. I came in heavy, but I’m working my a– off to get down to where my coaches want me to get down to and where I feel like I would be best to give everything I can for my time and do what I can for our team. Right now, I’m in better physical shape than I was last year at this time, but I’ve still got a long ways to go.

Q: Is your target different this year because you’re playing a new position?

LYNCH: You mean my target weight?

Q: Yeah.

LYNCH: Um, no, not really. They have their goal set, I have my goal set. My goal set basically is the same as theirs, but the target really is not any different than what I was when I came in, what I was my second year.

Q: And what is that target?

LYNCH: Around 270, 260. In that range.

Q: What are you right now?

LYNCH: I’m like more in the 280s right now.

Q: Did you take a lot of time off in February to heal your body? Is that why you put on some weight?

LYNCH: I don’t think I took my diet as best as I could. Just regular stuff like going out places, taking my wife out, things like that. I wasn’t eating vegetables and lean meats every day. So, I gained weight.

Q: (Inaudible)

LYNCH: It’s however you want to take it. I know last year I probably wasn’t as committed. I mean, I was committed, but I obviously had some off-field issues, getting suspended and getting hurt. So, I don’t think my mind was in the right place as far as how the season was going, but I wouldn’t say I wasn’t committed. It’s however you want to take it. I’m working my a– off right now to get down to the weight they want me to get, doing everything they want me to do. Try to do everything they want me to do. Yeah, it’s however you guys take it.

This article has 110 Comments

  1. This guys work ethic is horrible , plus he doesn’t get to the QB enough to keep around , can’t see John Lynch putting up with that

    1. He’ll either turn it around and perform well, or be on the street relatively soon. I don’t think we’ll see any coddling from the GM and HC–for that I’m grateful.

      1. My worry is the Chester McGlockton problem. All-Pro in contract years. Toilet clogger in non-contract years.

  2. Shanahan doesn’t seem to be all that concerned. He said Lynch is heading in the right direction and working hard. This idea that he could get cut because he’s fat and unmotivated started from one observation made by Grant and has turned into a full blown media creation with little substance. From what I’ve seen Lynch is moving well and the fact he’s been there from the beginning of OTA’s and working answers the motivation question.

    1. Agreed. Lynch has proven that he has the capability to be an effective pass rusher. The 49ers don’t have many players that are in that category. Unless he’s not doing what the 49ers want him to do, I can’t see him getting cut, any time soon.

        1. Being in shape does not always equate to a specific weight number. He could be 280lbs and solid but that would be over weight, from what this….or he could drop down to 265 but lose a lot of muscle mass and yet be in weight but out of shape and weak. I’d be less concerned with his number and how he looks, but rather how he does on the field. There are plenty of athletes who perform well with added weight and losing 10lbs does not make or break them…re: Lakers Shaq, guy gained almost 100 lbs from rookie year 92/93 to championship year 99/00, and he was better. Not saying Lynch is a talent like SO, but a guy at 6’6 weighing in at 270 will not be impacted all that much by 10 lbs (~4% weight). Guys our size can fluctuate 5 lbs a day from hydration.

            1. Grant- Perhaps your pushing of his weight issue might even be an additional motivator for him to work harder. You could be somewhat responsible for his working harder.

            2. But a soft 270 could be worse than a bulked 280. I’m sure they know, but getting fixated on a set number is short sighted is all. Get him on a meal plan and he’ll be there in a months time.

        2. Lynch’s pass rush is effective at helping to rush or delay the QB. He’s very good at running very fast straight at them but then they(QB) take a step forward and the tackle just pushes him right past the QB.

    2. If Shanahan wasn’t concerned at least at one point he wouldn’t have said they “challenged him hard” or that he’s now “headed in the right direction”.

      1. More reading into things that weren’t said or implied imo, just like the Williams topic.

        Shanahan sounded like he was happy with Lynch. Far from being concerned and ready to cut him for being fat and unmotivated.

        1. Shanahan is happy that Lynch has lost a few pounds, but Lynch still has to lose between 15 and 20 more. As Lynch put it, he has a long ways to go.

          1. Sure he does but as I said when we discussed this previously, it was not the big deal you were making it out to be. He showed up out of shape to offseason workouts. You’d like him to show up in shape, but that is essentially what the workouts are for and many of the players showed up out of shape from what I saw. This became a big story because other football sites jumped on your Tweet saying he was about 290 and then musing he could be cut at some point for being out of shape. There was a whole lot of attention paid to what really was a nothing story with little substance.

            1. Rocket are you condoning that’s it’s ok to show up for OTA’s out of shape?

              1. As I said above, you’d like him to show up in shape, but I’m certainly not going to cut somebody because they don’t show up to a voluntary offseason workout out of shape. As long as he’s ready to go by TC that’s all that matters at the end of the day.

              2. As a new coach you bet your azz I’m cutting someone who doesn’t show up in shape.
                Pretty sure the conversation was had with Lynch when Shanny got hired what the expectation was. And if it wasn’t then this team is in big trouble leadership wise.

                What message does it send to your teammates who did come into OTA’s in shape while you sat on the couch getting large?
                Especially for a guy who has a history of being lazy.
                Completely unacceptable. I’d cut him. It sends a message and the guy wasn’t that good to begin with!

              3. Nobody in the NFL works that way Prime. You don’t see veteran players get cut for showing up out of shape to voluntary workouts.

              4. Thats 1980 type thinking where players used the offseason to do nothing.

                For a guy with a history of injury issues you’d think he would take this seriously and get his body ready at the start of OTA’s. Like I said, using the OTA’s as a platform for conditioning is old school thinking.
                Training to be the best means you train year round. Showing up even 10 pounds overweight when the staff asked you to be at a certain weight shows you aren’t serious. So of course I’d cut him.
                Don’t need guys like that. Selfish and lazy turns into lockeroom cancers.

              5. The new regime will make an example out of Lynch before they let him bend the rules. He better hit their target weight.

              6. That’s exactly the point. They are trying to redefine their culture. Under Kelly it was a country club. Under Tomsula it was an all day spa.
                Accepting mediocrity from a conditioning perspective is a recipe for disaster.

              7. No Prime that is how teams operate in regards to players they feel can help them. Nobody cuts a player they feel will make them better for something as meaningless as showing up overweight to offseason TC. Most coaches in the league wouldn’t cut a starting caliber player for showing up to TC overweight. Lynch may get cut at some point if he doesn’t play well, gets suspended again or whatever, but he’s not getting cut because he showed up overweight to voluntary workouts in April.

              8. Nobody said he would get cut for being overweight in April. But he will get cut if he’s overweight and out of shape in September. He has a lot of work to do.

              9. Getting cut in Sept if he’s out of shape is not a story or keen observation. That is an obvious consequence if a player doesn’t care enough. You are making a huge deal out of the fact he showed up overweight to offseason voluntary camps and that he could get cut because of it. You are now doing your usual backtrack which is expected.

              10. Being 20-25 pounds overweight in May is very much a story, which is why it went viral. He has a lot of work to do. We’ll see if he can lose the weight in time. I haven’t backtracked one inch.

              11. It went viral because football websites are so starved for news they’ll jump on anything. They all just referenced your tweet. No research into what was going on, if anybody with the team had actually said something. Nothing. Just Grant Cohn saying Lynch was in danger of getting cut because he’s 20lb’s overweight.

            2. No one else showed up 25 pounds overweight like Lynch did. Offseason workouts are not for losing 25 pounds. This is a big story and he did weigh about 290 and he is in danger of being cut if he doesn’t get down below 270.

              1. Shanahan said he challenged Lynch hard, which means his weight is a big deal. He’s going in the right direction, but he isn’t close to the finish line.

              2. Grant is passing out pitchforks and torches. Supply is limited, so get yours now. Remember, they must be turned in at the close of training camp.

              3. No kidding huh? Now he’s making observations based on his own made up story and using that to criticize. I’ll give him credit for creativity at least.

              4. Only in your own mind Grant. You were correct he was overweight when he showed up to offseason workouts and that’s about it. That was also never contended so congratulations.

              5. I also was correct that the team told him he needed to get down below 270 before the start of the season and that he is in danger of getting cut if he doesn’t meet their target.

              6. When you first talked about this you said nothing about an exact weight he had to get down to or that he would be cut if he didn’t meet it. You said he was in danger of being cut because he was in your mind 20lb’s overweight.

              7. I said he weighed 290 and he was 20 pounds overweight. In fact, he was at least 23 pounds overweight. I did say the team would cut him if he didn’t meet their weight target. I called it the Eddie Lacy treatment.

              8. This 267 stuff was never brought up and you also didn’t specify that you thought he would get cut if he didn’t meet that target. You said he was 20lb’s overweight and in danger of being cut. Do I need to post the tweet?

              9. Check the rest of my tweets. I said the team was giving him the Eddie Lacy treatment, which is a weight-target ultimatum. I didn’t know the exact weight target at the time, just that it was below 270. Now I know what it is.

              10. You didn’t say it that way at the time and I wouldn’t have argued if you did. Obviously they aren’t going to keep him if he’s out of shape in Sept and doesn’t perform well in TC. You were making a huge deal about him showing up to offseason workouts overweight and talking about him being cut because of it. Sounds like you are changing your tune now.

              11. I never said he would be cut because of his weight in May. That’s fiction. I said he would be cut if he didn’t get to a certain weight by the end of training camp and that he had a long way to go to get there. Check the tweets.

              12. You said exactly what I said you did. If you elaborated on that later then fine I’m not going to go and look at what you tweeted later on right this moment, but the tweet I referenced is exactly what the football sites jumped on, and it had no mention of anything other than you saying he was 290, 20lb’s overweight and in danger of being cut. That is why people jumped on it.

              13. I should have read this thread before responding below. As Grant says, he (and I) were not arguing they were going to cut Lynch right now. But his job was/ is in jeopardy if he doesn’t get his a$$ into gear. I thought that was pretty clear.

              14. That might be what you’re saying, Scooter, but Grant is going beyond that.

                He’s saying, that if Lynch doesn’t get down to 267 by cutdown day, he’ll be gone.

                If Lynch doesn’t get down to 267 AND shows a lack of effort / production, sure he’s likely to get cut, but to say that Lynch HAS to lose 25 pounds by cutdown day is patently ridiculous.

                Let’s say Lynch only gets down to 273 by cutdown day, AND he’s an absolute terror both in team workouts and preseason games (I’m not saying this will happen, just what if), the 49ers are going to say, “Gee, Lynch is really tearing it up, and he’s on the right path on his weight, but we told him he needed to get down to 267 pounds by the time the season starts and he hasn’t, so he’s gone.”

                Almost zero chance of the 49ers cutting him simply because he doesn’t get down to 267. If he’s productive, and a good teammate in camp and preseason (meaning he’s playing / practicing well and making progress toward the 267 pound goal weight), he’s not getting cut.

        2. Look, its good that he is now working hard, and if he does work hard between now and camp, and again through camp, then sure he will most likely make the team as he is more talented than most of the other guys on the roster. But your suggestion there was no truth to the idea his job could be in jeopardy due to his lack of effort is getting blown out of the water. Lynch admits he was overweight and didn’t do enough during the break to stay in shape. Shanahan admits they have “challenged him hard” about putting the work in to get in shape. You don’t do that for guys that are self motivated. He needed an attitude correction, and sounds like so far he has accepted it and is working hard.

          1. I said there was no truth to the idea that the team would cut him based on the fact he showed up to offseason training out of shape Scooter. In other words the uproar that started based on how Grant thought he looked was totally blown out of proportion and became a media created story. Shanahan said they challenged him yes, and the majority of that challenge would be based on his lost 2016 season rather than how he showed up to offseason workouts imo. I have never said Lynch was self motivated or didn’t deserve criticism. My concern from the beginning has been the way this became a big deal based on an observation with no facts or info. That isn’t Grant’s fault as he simply made the comment, but it just shows how little effort some media put into finding out the facts and how little regard they have for the players it affects.

            1. I told you the coaching staff mandated Lynch lose more than 20 pounds and I was right.

              1. You said he was a cool 20lb’s overweight in response to a question posed to you on twitter regarding why you thought he could get cut. He says he’s in the 280’s and the team wants him to get down to at least 270. You weren’t right and you made a big deal out of nothing. You had him getting cut for showing up to voluntary workouts overweight. Big time overreaction.

              2. He was in the 290s. He lost some weight, but he still has a long way to go. I said he was danger of getting cut and he still is.

              3. The only way he gets cut is if he doesn’t perform in TC. Has zero to do with how much he weighed when he arrived to offseason workouts.

              4. He won’t make the team unless he gets down to around 267 pounds, as I’ve said from the beginning.

              5. So if he’s playing well in TC but is 275 he’s getting cut according to you? Yeah that’ll happen.

                You’ve already lost the point. You said he was in danger of getting cut because he showed up 20lb’s overweight and not only has he not been cut, but the HC had positive things to say about him. He’s not getting cut unless he goes through TC and doesn’t play well. That is not the point you were making at all.

              6. He isn’t good enough to miss the team’s target by eight pounds. They will cut him.

                I didn’t say he would get cut in May. I said he was in danger of not making the final roster because he is severely overweight. If he can lose 25 pounds in three months, more power to him.

              7. Where are you getting 267 from? He didn’t say what the target weight was other than 270-260. Where do you get 25lbs in 3 months from.

              8. Oh the old insider knowledge angle again. Ok. Where is the 25lb’s in 3 months coming from?

              9. I know for a fact the target is 267. He was in the 290s. That’s at least 23 pounds he has to lose.

              10. You just contradicted yourself on the number and are guessing at what he was when he came in. Right again Grant. You sound like Seb.

              11. I knew he was in the 290s. I knew they wanted him somewhere below 270. Now I know they want him at 267.

              12. I agree he won’t get cut in May but he hasn’t helped his cause.
                If it was me, I’d cut him today!
                Nothing about asking a guy to get in shape then showing up out of shape is acceptable.

              13. I see my post with a youtube link is under moderation. A Monty Python link. I trust other youtube links shared by other posters are moderated as well.

              14. “I knew he was in the 290s. I knew they wanted him somewhere below 270. Now I know they want him at 267.”

                Grant, am I correct in saying this is not just mere speculation on your part? That has been my understanding. Same with Maiocco’s comment. It is what you have been told/ heard.

            2. “I said there was no truth to the idea that the team would cut him based on the fact he showed up to offseason training out of shape Scooter. ”

              And therein lies the main issue. You are arguing against something that nobody else was saying. Nobody said he would get cut because he was overweight for offseason training. It was about him getting cut if he didn’t turn it around, and whether he had the right attitude and motivation to do so. Good for him, it looks like he is currently working hard to do it. Lets hope it continues.

  3. IF he’s lucky enough to turn it around, there’ll be incentives up the wazoo in his next contract for whichever team takes a flyer on him….

    1. I’d think if he has a breakout season, he’s not going anywhere. Young, effective pass rushers are at a premium and we all know how much cap room SF has and will have going forward.

  4. As a 49er fan I am pulling for him. Let’s see how he does through OTAs and Training Camp before we completely write him off (I’m talking to you Cohn)

  5. Which other players are we tossing under the bus for various infractions? Let’s start a list, and come back to it at the close of training camp. That way, we can quickly determine how brilliant we are. Okay, first on the list is Arron Lynch–grossly overweight and not terribly motivated. Grant called him out. Do we have an over/under on his release date? Any other players? C’mon, speak up!

  6. Here’s a question posed to all readers and/or Grant: I read all of the Niner beat writers, Maiocco, Barrows, et al…why is it Grant is the only one people seem to openly argue with and talk trash to? Why doesn’t he get the same respect? Just curious…

      1. I hear you, but those guys write opinion columns too, wouldn’t you agree? Yet I’ve never read a sour word from one of their followers. Seems like the trolls latched on to you for some reason.

          1. They give their two cents. They both just finished articles giving their opinion on the order of the depth chart. Maiocco is definitely more factual…almost to the point of being robotic, but Barrows? Dude writes some hilarious stuff sometimes. There’s something else to the jabs you seem to be getting and I can’t put my finger on it. But give ’em heII man!

            1. I just read Barrows OTA report, and he said that Dontae Johnson took the first team reps. Grant mentioned Reaser. Wonder who is correct.

              1. Obviously Grant is correct, no? You’ve pegged Barrows as a pablum-spewing shill.

              2. Cassie, in these practices, nobody can be everywhere at once, and it sounds like they were inserting different players in different positions all the time. Both could be correct, at times.
                .
                No, no, I consider Barrows to write pablum, and his facts only reporting just defines him as a Niner homer, but he is no shill.
                .
                Cassie, you are the shill, dissing me because I have been mean to your daddy.

      2. If you write opinions, people will argue with you.
        ——————-
        No they wont.

    1. Good question. Like many/most blogs, this one can get very caustic very quickly. There are many personal styles here which, at times, fuel polarized behaviors. Grant usually takes a lump or two but stays aloof. Today is another matter…

    2. There is one reason Thomas: Grant is a regular on the forum. People on here argue with one another. Grant often has strong opinions that fly in the face of how most view things, so he gets called on it and to his credit he actually hashes it out instead of ignoring it. About a year ago at this time I was arguing with most of the board over the quality of the roster and the outlook for the Niners under Chip Kelly. The year before it was the same deal with Jim Tomsula. Makes things much more interesting at the very least.

      1. Agreed. It does make it much more interesting…and entertaining. Just hope Grant has thick skin. It can’t be fun to have people personally attack you for something you spend your life doing and trying to do well.

          1. Haha, nice. Well you got a regular reader in me now. I will say this, like rocket said, I appreciate the fact that you respond to your readers comments/questions. The other guys don’t do that as much.

        1. He’s been taking it for a long time and still comes back for more so I don’t think you need to worry :)

    3. The other posters write pablum, and tend to just report things with little insight.
      .
      Grant likes to stir the pot. and if you read his intro to his blog, he openly says to agree or argue with him.
      .
      I like this blog because Grant at least SAYS something. The others just tend to write the obvious, while Grant gets to the heart of the matter. Case in point- Aaron Lynch’s weight issues. Until Grant pointed that out, nobody noticed it. Now we hear about KS riding Lynch hard about getting into shape.
      .
      I like Grant’s writing style. He can paint a picture, and distill an entire practice into a single sentence.
      .
      Those trash talkers are just jealous, or are toadies for the old FO. When they say that Grant writes like his father Lowell, they do not realize that they are giving him a compliment. Their screeds say a lot more about them than it does about Grant.

  7. With apologies if this has previously been addressed, but I heard that Joe Montana’s dad, Joe Sr., passed. Best wishes to the family.

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