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San Francisco 49ers: Sifting through the ashes of NaVorro Bowman release

By Peter Panacy

NEW ORLEANS, LA - FEBRUARY 03: NaVorro Bowman #53 of the San Francisco 49ers sits on the bench following their loss to the Baltimore Ravens during Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on February 3, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Ravens defeated the 49ers 34-31. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - FEBRUARY 03: NaVorro Bowman #53 of the San Francisco 49ers sits on the bench following their loss to the Baltimore Ravens during Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on February 3, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Ravens defeated the 49ers 34-31. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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A day after the San Francisco 49ers released four-time All-Pro linebacker NaVorro Bowman, it’s time to reflect just how quickly NFL fortunes can turn on the best of players.

The NFL should stand for “not for long.”

That’s what a player’s career and/or tenure can amount to, and the San Francisco 49ers proved this to be the case by releasing veteran linebacker NaVorro Bowman on Friday.

Bowman, a three-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All-Pro was the guy to make Patrick Willis’ decline and eventual retirement not seem so bad, even though it was. And Niners fans everywhere hoped to see yet another dynamic linebacking tandem with Bowman and his rookie teammate, Reuben Foster, in coming years.

San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers /

San Francisco 49ers

Not to be.

Now that I’ve had a day to digest yesterday’s shocking news, it’s worth sorting all the thoughts and emotions in order to break down the most important question — why.

For starters, Bowman’s career is the classic case of “what could have been.” Many viewed him as the league’s best inside linebacker before his gruesome knee injury in the 2014 NFC Championship game.

That injury caused him to miss all of 2014. “OK,” you might say. “He came back in 2015, led the league in tackles (116) and went to the Pro Bowl that year.”

Perhaps, but it didn’t take much viewing to see he had lost a step, especially in coverage.

Add another season-ending injury — and Achilles tear early in 2016 — and Bowman’s stock took a major hit.

What if neither injury happened? Well, it’s possible… perhaps probable Bowman would have been in line for a yellow jacket at Canton.

Separating Business from Emotion

We’ll never know if Bowman would have been part of the solution in San Francisco’s current rebuild. But we can certainly assume each holdover, roster-wise, from the previous regime would have to prove his merits to general manager John Lynch, head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co.

Bowman is one of the last handful of ties to San Francisco’s most-recent era of success. But sentiments and memories do little to help rebuild a franchise out of the muck that has existed the last two seasons.

And if the Niners coaching staff didn’t see Bowman’s abilities matching what the rebuild would take, it makes sense both parties would want to move on.

SEATTLE, WA – JANUARY 19: Linebacker NaVorro Bowman #53 of the San Francisco 49ers is carted off the field in the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks during the 2014 NFC Championship at CenturyLink Field on January 19, 2014 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA – JANUARY 19: Linebacker NaVorro Bowman #53 of the San Francisco 49ers is carted off the field in the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks during the 2014 NFC Championship at CenturyLink Field on January 19, 2014 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /

That’s the nature of professional sports. It’s a “what have you done for me lately” kind of business.

The 49ers failed to separate business from emotion on one account, though. A trade, even for the lowest of draft picks, would have put San Francisco in a better position to rebuild in 2018 and beyond.

But, if anything, this shows why it’s important to display respect to a departing player even if it’s against the team’s true best interests. Instead of essentially picking where Bowman would play the rest of this season, the Niners gave the veteran a choice to sign with any team showing mutual interest.

So, kudos to the 49ers for that, even if draft capital was a better business decision.

NaVorro Bowman Epitaph

I remember, as a kid, nearly crying when the San Francisco Giants didn’t retain first baseman Will Clark after the 1993 season. You could make the same argument about Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Joe Montana if you want.

In a way, I feel those sentiments now. Bowman was the 49ers, through thick and thin, of this decade. There’s going to be a major void, plain and simple.

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Pretty soon, we’ll be saying the same thing about left tackle Joe Staley — the longest-tenured player on San Francisco’s roster. And we’ll realize it’s rare, almost impossible, for players to remain with one team their entire careers.

It’s just the nature of the game.

If there are positives, though (there has to be, right?), we can still look back at some of the great moments from Bowman’s time in San Francisco.

Moments like this one, which I had the fortune to see in person:

And while we look to the past, we can also be excited about the future. It’s a future that features Foster emerging as the next great Niners defender and key cog within a defense budding towards dominance.

Foster has some big shoes to fill, though, and he knows it just as well as all of us.

Next: Top 10 linebackers in 49ers franchise history

In the meantime, let’s thank Bowman for all he did while donning the red and gold while wishing him the best of fortunes in his career.