Adam Peters spent the past seven seasons working for the San Francisco 49ers before signing a deal to become the new GM of the Washington Commanders this week.
During his time with the 49ers, Peters served as San Francisco’s vice president of player personnel from 2017-20 before being promoted to assistant general manager in 2021.
His boss? Pro Football Hall of Famer John Lynch.
Lynch announced his retirement from the NFL in 2008 after a stellar 15-year career. He then immediately began a broadcasting career with FOX. He thrived in that role until Jan. 2017, when he was shockingly named general manager of the 49ers.
He was paired with new head coach Kyle Shanahan. However, Lynch, who didn’t have a traditional personnel background, needed to find someone with a strong scouting background. So, he reached out to the Denver Broncos and their GM at the time, the legendary John Elway, and wanted to hire his right-hand man.
That man was Peters.
Since 2017, Peters has worked hand-in-hand with Lynch to build the 49ers’ roster. San Francisco has arguably the NFL’s best roster and the combination of Lynch and Peters built it through the draft and supplemented it with trades and free agency.
In his introductory press conference as Washington’s new general manager, Peters said he would use the same formula with the Commanders.
“We’re going to build through the draft here and supplement through free agency,” Peters said on Tuesday. We’re going to be very process-driven and diligent in who we select in free agency.”
Now that Peters is officially the new GM in Washington, what does Lynch think of his old protege?
“His core principles are extremely solid,” Lynch told Zach Selby of commanders.com. “His process is extremely thorough. He’s a very bright guy. He really is. And he’s a tireless worker.”
It’s not surprising to see Lynch praise Peters. The 49ers didn’t want to lose Peters, but they’ve always felt this moment was inevitable since he came to San Francisco in 2017. Peters is known as one of the NFL’s best evaluators, but his ability to build relationships sets him apart.
Peters said on Tuesday that he sees Washington’s current situation as similar to the one he, Lynch, and Shanahan inherited with the 49ers. Peters described the Commanders as an opportunity of a lifetime, but he understands there’s plenty of work to be done.
San Francisco will miss Peters, but Washington is thrilled that he will lead the franchise into a new — and hopefully — winning era.
