San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle might be one of the most important pieces of the team's offense. He is entering the final year of his rookie deal, and the 49ers hope to lock him up to a long-term contract as quickly as possible.
Of course, that will mean making Kittle the highest-paid tight end in the NFL and resetting the market for the position rather than just try to top the largest current contract.
Kittle has posted back-to-back 1,000-plus-yard seasons and found his way into the endzone 10 times in the process. Along the way, he has earned two Pro Bowl selections, and last season was named a first-team All-Pro.
John Lynch joined 95.7 The Game on Thursday and was asked where the 49ers are in contract negotiations. The general manager wants to make sure Kittle remains on his roster for a long time.
It was reported after the Super Bowl that re-signing the All-Pro tight end was a priority for the Niners, and Lynch confirmed that the team tried to get something quickly done this offseason.
"We made an attempt at it early," Lynch said on the Joe, Lo and Dibs show. "George is a huge part of this organization, and I think you saw it just the other day. He had me in tears, the heartfelt tribute to Joe Staley. It just speaks -- George is usually clowning around and all that, and has so much fun playing the game, just like Joe. But I think he spoke to who he is as a teammate, and why we all love him, aside from him being an insanely productive and good tight end.
"So we're very interested. George isn't going anywhere. We're going to work hard to try to get it done. I think they've got motivation just to really reset the tight end market, as do we, for him. It's just finding that sweet spot, where that is.
"Like I said, he's not going to go anywhere. When that happens? I don't know. But we're working hard, as are they, to try to make that happen. George is going to be a part of the 49ers for a long, long time."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.