Originally posted by Pillbusta:
We will resign Iupati at some point this season and next offseason, Whitner, Goodwin and Justin Smith come off our books. I also anticipate some cuts and/or pay cuts of some very expensive vets. Then the priorities for extensions will be Kaep because Harbaugh said he was the best player in the 2011 draft, then Aldon because OLB is arguably the 2nd most impactful position in football and he is the premier sack artist in the league, then Crabtree because he is our number 1 receiver.
I do see us having some leverage with Kaep on his contract because if he doesn't extend this summer then he plays 2014 at a shade over $1 million and he is risking both injury and job security for pennies on the dollar. Kaep is 25 and as a QB this won't be his last deal and he won't want to miss study time. I think we get a good deal done with him. Aldon will be expensive but since he is only 23, I would extend him for a very long time so that it appears that he is getting the biggest deal but annually not so much (8yr/$70mil).
Then to Crabtree, you can already see that he knows it is time for an extension. He is talking about being a number 1 and working hard to have a great season. He wants to get paid and it is his agent that is putting this stuff in his ears. I just hope that Harbaugh is in Kaep's ear and is reminding him that his job is to spread the ball around to the guy that is open and not to repeat what happened on the final set of downs during the Super Bowl. Crabtree wants the lucrative extension this summer but if the price isn't right he will be a free agent the summer of 2015. I hope we keep them all but Kaep and Aldon are musts
This.
If we keep our O-line dominant, extend Aldon, and of course Kaep, we will be an elite team for years to come, with or without Michael Crabtree, so long as we continue to give him a steady influx of talent at receiver.