Much of the San Francisco 49ers offseason discussion has surrounded the potential long-term extension for the team's All-Pro tight end, George Kittle. The two sides reportedly tried to work something out in the weeks following the Super Bowl, but talks fell apart, and they reportedly remain far apart in the negotiating process.
Kittle will eventually earn a big payday, and he will deserve every penny. But the uniqueness of his talent as a receiving threat, physical presence, and elite blocking, paired with the uniqueness of this strange offseason, have complicated things.
Many had expected the salary cap to increase significantly next year. Then COVID-19 hit. Now, no one is really sure what will happen. We don't even know if there will be fans in every NFL stadium when the regular-season kicks off in September or if the league will even meet that scheduled start.
So the wait on news of a Kittle deal continues.
In the meantime, the 49ers have a curiously large number of other players scheduled to hit free agency next offseason—big names like Richard Sherman, Trent Williams, Kyle Juszczyk, and many others.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic recently took questions from fans and was asked, besides Kittle, who he expects to be the next Niner to receive an extension.
The 49ers beat writer threw out three names in his response — linebacker Fred Warner, wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, and running back Raheem Mostert.
"In addition, the 49ers probably would love to extend linebacker Fred Warner at the end of the upcoming season," wrote Barrows. "He'd only have one more year remaining on his rookie deal at that point. The 49ers also could ink extensions with two guys who could see new deals this year: Bourne and running back Raheem Mostert, who have outplayed their current contracts."
Bourne is among those scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next year. Warner and Mostert, however, won't hit free agency until 2022, at the earliest.
Mostert, of course, was a breakout player last season, especially in the playoffs. If you didn't know his name before, you did after he put up 220 rushing yards on 29 carries (7.6 yards per attempt) and four trips into the end zone against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game. Mostert nearly single-handedly pushed San Francisco to its Super Bowl appearance.
Barrows even believes that Mostert might see a new deal before the team's All-Pro tight end.
"Mostert, in fact, could see a deal get done ahead of Kittle's," added Barrows.
No deals are getting done right now. Typically, the 49ers would have at least a few of their draft picks locked up by this point in the offseason. With the salary cap future so murky, fans may have to continue waiting to hear anything on that front.
Kittle's agent would be well within his rights to refuse to allow his client to step onto a practice field without a new deal. The tight end is scheduled to earn just over $2.1 million in 2020. Some speculate that his new deal could approach $20 million a year. An injury could hurt that.
There has been no on-field work, though. And none is expected until training camp in July, at the earliest. So at least that part has worked to the 49ers' advantage, and Kittle has been participating in the team's virtual offseason work.
"Kittle hasn't said a word about holding out or refusing to play," writes Barrows. "In fact, he's been taking part in all the voluntary virtual meetings the team has had so far. But he seems well within his right to refuse to play or even practice this year — the last year on his rookie contract — if a new deal isn't completed."
