Last January, back when the San Francisco 49ers were absorbing a brutal smashing at the hands of the eventual Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round of the playoffs, second-year cornerback Renardo Green found himself benched for a play and got into a verbal scuffle with head coach Kyle Shanahan.
That fueled plenty of speculation about Green's future, including the notion the Niners could dangle him as trade bait this offseason.
ESPN listed the 2024 Round 2 draftee as a potential trade chip, which led to thoughts San Francisco might move on from him this offseason.
No trade materialized, however. And, from the annual NFL meetings in Phoenix, Arizona, it sounds as if the 49ers never intended to move Green whatsoever despite the rumors to the contrary.
Instead, both general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan fully endorsed Green as having a major role on the roster in the immediate future.
John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan shut down rumors of Renardo Green trade
When asked about the possibility of moving Green via trade after what went down last winter, Lynch bluntly said there was nothing to the chatter.
"I don't know where that came from," Lynch said, via David Bonilla of 49ers Webzone. "Some of those things—where there's smoke, there's fire. Never have spoken to anyone."
To be fair to ESPN's original article, it was speculative. There were no reports of the Niners actually dangling the cornerback as trade bait.
And with new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris coming in, Green has a chance to bounce back to the kind of prowess he displayed his rookie season.
"I can tell you, Raheem is extremely excited to work with Renardo," Lynch added. "He sees a lot of tools that are kind of untapped, and some of that's on Renardo. We do need him to play better. I think he can be a big-time player. We did when we drafted him."
Shanahan, too, spoke on his altercation with Green and pointed out why it was a coaching moment, not some indicator of the cornerback's future.
"When I get on a guy, it's—I know it can sound weird—I'm always upset if someone's not playing the best they possibly can," Shanahan said. "And I believe so much in Renardo, just the type of guy he is, the talent he is. He's a dude I loved coming out of college, I loved him in his rookie year, and I love him here."
From both Shanahan and Lynch's perspectives, it certainly doesn't sound as if San Francisco is looking to phase Green out after two years.
On the contrary, he's getting another chance to prove hi