Offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey has been a whipping boy at times this season for San Francisco 49ers fans and media, and on Sunday his critics got more ammo during a 23-15 loss to the Washington Football Team.
The 49ers had their hands full with Washington's powerful defensive line, which caused McGlinchey to be a frequent target of 49ers fans on Twitter as the game progressed. McGlinchey also had a costly penalty late in the game when he was called for holding on a 22-yard passing play that would have put the 49ers at the Washington 22-yard line with just under two minutes to play.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked after the game if he felt McGlinchey needed to work on his weight and play strength in the offseason. Shanahan also offered a quick thought on McGlinchey's penalty.
"His weight does fluctuate," Shanahan said of McGlinchey, who is currently listed at 6-8, 310 pounds. "I think he was lighter this year. That stuff we'll talk about at the end of the season and hopefully have an offseason to be able to figure out whatever's best for him."
As for the penalty, Shanahan said, "I didn't see exactly what happened on that. I'm looking down the field. But they've got a good D-line and we got into situations where they could tee off a little bit, which puts the challenge on our whole O-line. But obviously we've got to do better and find a way to avoid that penalty."
McGlinchey was selected by the 49ers in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, which means they'll soon have to decide whether or not to pick up the fifth-year option in his rookie contract for 2022. They'll also have to decide if they want to try to sign him to a second contract. It'll certainly be interesting to see what they decide on both issues, and if they look for any changes from him this offseason.
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