Everything came up 49ers last season. Well, until the final six minutes of the Super Bowl.
Prior to that meltdown, however, all was in the 49ers' favor. After winning 10 games through two seasons with coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch at the helm, San Francisco won 13 regular-season games, were crowned NFC West winners and NFC champions before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV.
But Lynch and Shanahan didn't get off to the best start, especially in the NFL draft. Solomon Thomas hasn't exactly played like a top-three pick through three seasons. Lynch has until Monday to decide on Thomas' fifth-year contract option.
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He says the 49ers are undecided on what they'll do right now, but that doesn't mean this is guaranteed to be Thomas' final season in Santa Clara.
"We haven't, and we've communicated that with Solomon and his camp," Lynch said Thursday on 95.7 The Game's "Joe, Lo and Dibs" show when asked if they've made a decision on the option. "I think the one thing we shared with him, that was the same thing that we did (not use the option) with Laken Tomlinson, yet we extended Laken Tomlinson the next year."
Lynch went on to say Thomas will be a big part of the 49ers' defense this year, a sentiment he has made throughout the offseason.
Thomas played in all 16 regular-season games last year, but only started three. He recorded two sacks and six QB hits. Through three seasons, Thomas has totaled only six sacks.
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The 49ers selected defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, but Lynch believes that won't hurt Thomas' playing time. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh does his best to shuffle D-linemen throughout the game to keep them fresh.
"We brought in (Javon) Kinlaw, but everybody who's watched us knows we rotate a lot of players there," Lynch said. "We believe in going as hard as they can, and then we'll rotate, kind of like hockey lines.
"Solomon's going to be a big part of that rotation."
Thomas, listed at 280 pounds, also has been challenged to gain weight and get stronger before this season.
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"We've kind of charged him with putting a little weight on," Lynch said. "Last year, he got really light, which helped in his quickness, but I don't know if he had enough substance, just in terms of weight.
"So, he's going to come back a little heavier."