San Francisco 49ers: NaVorro Bowman release a sad reality of rebuild
The San Francisco 49ers released NaVorro Bowman in a move indicative of the sad reality of life for a rebuilding NFL team.
NaVorro Bowman is no longer a member of the San Francisco 49ers. It’s a sentence many 49ers fans will find hard to comprehend in the wake of his release on Friday.
Bowman is a bonafide 49ers legend, having been an integral part of the fearsome defense that helped San Francisco to three successive NFC Championship games and Super Bowl XLVII and scored the last touchdown at Candlestick Park in a play known by many as “The Pick at the Stick”.
For the casual fan for whom Bowman’s decline may not have been as apparent, his exit will stir up emotional and visceral reactions, and that is completely understandable given his significance in the recent history of the franchise. However, his departure is part of the sad reality of a team undergoing a rebuild as substantial as that of the 49ers.
Bowman fought back brilliantly from tearing his ACL and MCL in the Niners’ memorable NFC title game loss to the Seattle Seahawks in January 2014 and was an All-Pro in 2015. But he has not been able to have the same recovery from tearing his Achilles last season and it is clear at this point in his career that he is far from his physical peak.
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While Bowman is still effective against the run, he is not the same brilliant player he once was in coverage and his heir apparent, Reuben Foster — who the Niners traded back into the first round this year to get — has the physical tools to be a force in both of those areas.
Foster appears likely to return to face the Washington Redskins this Sunday and getting him as many snaps as possible to aid his development is more important than giving Bowman playing time that seems beyond his capabilities at this point. San Francisco also has Ray-Ray Armstrong playing well at the Will linebacker spot and the injured Malcolm Smith is locked down to a lucrative long-term deal.
Taking all that into account, the conclusion has to be that the 49ers are doing the right thing by letting Bowman scour the open market and find a team where he can compete for the Super Bowl ring he richly deserves. But in terms of his 49er career, there will be the overriding feeling that this ending is not a fair one for Bowman.
Unfortunately sports have an irritating tendency for dealing players unfair hands, and Bowman, having seen much of his prime decimated by injury, has received a particularly unfortunate one. He may never receive the recognition he merits as a result of his injuries, but he will forever be remembered by the 49ers as a cornerstone of a team that, but for a few bounces of the ball, could have celebrated three successive Super Bowl titles.
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A potential Hall of Fame career now appears to be beyond Bowman, but you can mark him down as a near-lock for the 49ers’ Ring of Honor. And when the day of his induction comes, if Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch have cemented San Francisco as one of the league’s premier franchises, then the pain of having to let him go will have been worth it.