San Francisco 49ers rookie cornerback Upton Stout has been the talk of the town recently. He’s made quite the impression on football experts and teammates alike at 49ers training camp.
You can count 49ers general manager John Lynch among the people impressed with Stout.
In an interview on the KNBR radio show Murph and Markus, Lynch had the ultimate form of praise for Stout, a 49ers’ 2025 third round NFL Draft pick.
“You always have to be careful making comparisons to HOF players, but I played with a nickel in Tampa, Ronde Barber,” Lynch said. “The feistiness, the competitor that Upton is [reminds me of Barber.]”
Lynch also said that Stout and defensive end Mykel Williams have been the two most impressive rookies in 49ers training camp. Williams was the 49ers’ first round draft pick.
Like Lynch said, it remains to be seen if Upton Stout can live up to that lofty comparison. But, it is clear that Stout will be an immediate fan favorite due to the passion he clearly has for the game of football.
Plus, he already wears the same jersey number as Barber (#20).
What Would a Ronde Barber-eque Career Look Like?
Ronde Barber is one of those legends that mean way more to the NFL franchise they played for than the stat sheet shows. He played all 16 seasons of his NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and will be revered by Bucs fans forever.
But he also filled up the stat sheet like few others. Barber was a 5-time Pro Bowler and 3-time All-Pro for the Buccaneers.
He led the NFL in interceptions with 10 back in 2001 and helped the Bucs to a Super Bowl XXXVII championship on January 26, 2003. That was Tampa Bay’s first Super Bowl win in franchise history.
Barber and John Lynch were teammates from 1997-2003 in Tampa Bay. They won the Super Bowl together in their final season as Buccaneers teammates, and made the Pro Bowl as teammates in 2001.
So Lynch had a seat as close as anyone to the greatness of Ronde Barber. If anyone knows what it takes to be like Barber, it’s him.
Lynch Also Provides Injury Updates
During his time on the Murph and Markus show, John Lynch also provided updates on the injury status of two key 49ers players, wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings.
Lynch said that Aiyuk is doing “very well” in his rehab. The 49ers don’t think that he will be ready for Week 1 of the regular season. But Lynch does have hope that Aiyuk will be ready to go by then.
As for Jennings, Lynch said that Jauan is working with the performance staff on a calf injury that he sustained in the offseason. He didn’t give much of an update beyond that. He kept any developments with Jennings’s contract talks under wraps as well.
If both of them aren’t ready for the start of the regular season, the 49ers will have to lean on second-year pro Ricky Pearsall, who has had a good training camp, to lead the WR room.
And they’ll need to rely on Stout and the defense to put the banged-up offense in a position to win.
49ers fans, do you think Upton Stout can have a Hall-of-Fame career?
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