"Even though we kind of warned our fans, I think that's a tough pill to swallow, even if you hear it's happening," Lynch said on the latest '49ers Talk,'" via NBC Sports Bay Area. "I think it spoke to how good our roster was. We had a lot of talent on it, and we had acquired a lot of talent and accrued a lot of talent."

A healthy McCaffrey would be a key component for San Francisco to rebound from a 6-11 season that at least provided a side benefit of more time off in the winter following three straight years of long playoff runs.