Lynch made the comments on the Pat McAfee Show, according to the show’s YouTube page.

“I mean, that’s one thing, you talked about it, certainly not our standard, embarrassing what happened last year,” Lynch said. “A lot of reasons for it.”

49ers GM John Lynch says team can be better

The 49ers suffered injuries last season that contributed to the poor season, Lynch said.

“Injuries to Christian (McCaffrey) and whatnot,” Lynch said. “But ultimately, those are just excuses, and we had to own that. And we had to take a hard look and say, where can we be better?”

The 49ers finished 6-11, putting them dead last in the NFC West. And perhaps the only good thing about that is they could make a worst-to-first run in 2025. Lynch said he believes the players understand what needs to happen.

“When I knew our players took that to heart was Day 1 of offseason program,” Lynch said. “And we had 100% attendance. For something that’s voluntary. And that spoke to me that our players understood we fell way short of our standard. The work’s been excellent, and now they got to continue that work away from here.”

Article Continues BelowAnother thing that bodes well for the 49ers is McCaffrey appears to be ready to roll health-wise. Also, he looks explosive, according to 49erswebzone.com.

“I stand back there, where I used to stand—just about 30 yards deeper—and it looks really good to me,” Lynch said. “That’s what I’ll tell you. He looks bouncy; he looks explosive. Christian likes the work. As talented as he is, he’s a feel player, and he likes to work, and he’s put in the work.

“Believe me, he’s as intense a competitor as I’ve ever been around. He’s maniacal in his approach.”

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan added that McCaffrey lives with a “ready” mindset.

“Christian, he’s as ready as any player I’ve ever been around,” Shanahan said. “When he gets hurt, he’s got to rehab and get better. Right now, he’s as healthy as can be. We’ve got to kind of protect him from himself, but Christian has a good idea of what he needs to do right now.

“He’s doing a lot less than he normally would do, but I know he’s excited on how healthy he feels, and the fact that he can get out there.”