"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."

The 49ers have a history of signing their standout players to big-time contract extensions.

A scenario exists in which the 49ers bounce back and go to the Super Bowl next season, but such a scenario almost certainly would depend on the offense playing at an extremely high level.