Kyle Juszczyk is just a couple of weeks away from hitting free agency, and from the discussion on Monday's The Pat McAfee Show, it sounds like the San Francisco 49ers fullback believes he will get to test the market.
This is the second time Juszczyk will be a free agent. He signed a four-year, $21 million deal with the 49ers in 2017 after four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.
"Honestly, there really is so much that goes into it," Juszczyk told Pat McAfee. "Money, without a doubt, is one of the biggest things. I'm not going to be the guy that sits here and tells you that no, money doesn't matter because this is life, man. It's a business. Money is probably the No. 1 factor, but it's not the only factor. There's a lot.
"Things like, can this team win a Super Bowl? Where is the team located? It's tough being away from family. So, it's always nice to find a team that's competitive, wants to pay you the most, is close to family, is headed in the right direction. ... All those things kind of weight into it, but it's not always about money."
The fullback has said in the past that most of his family is on the East Coast. He and his wife want to start a family, so being closer to family is important.
Juszczyk reminded viewers and listeners that he didn't go with the highest offer in 2017 when he signed with San Francisco. He just felt the 49ers under head coach Kyle Shanahan were the best fit at the time.
Juszczyk has been a vital part of Shanahan's rushing attack in San Francisco, and it's difficult to imagine the 49ers rushing attack without its five-time Pro Bowl fullback leading the way for running backs. Juszczyk has been the highest-paid fullback by a significant margin over the past four years, and San Francisco is dealing with salary-cap constraints and some tough offseason decisions.
The fullback has received a lot of messages from his 49ers teammates. They haven't necessarily been direct attempts to sway Juszczyk to say with San Francisco, but the 29-year-old player wonders if that is their intention.
"You know what? I think I've gotten a [direct message] from George Kittle just about every day in the past two weeks," Juszczyk said. "George and I talk, but it's not usually on a daily basis, so I don't know if the free agency has anything to do with that or the fact that we took our wives to Cabo about a month ago, and we had fun down there.
"Yeah, I've had a lot of Niners teammates reach out to me a lot recently."
Juszczyk recently told Josina Anderson that he had pleasant conversations with the 49ers about a potential return. However, the team is awaiting some clarification on the salary cap, which is expected to drop to around $180 million this year.
My understanding is there's been a few preliminary exchanges b/w the #49ers & impending free agent FB Kyle Juszczyk on a deal for his potential return. As of Mon. the wait continued to ascertain how K.J. fits into the team's budget relative to the 2021 cap minimum of $180M (1/2).
— IG: JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) February 23, 2021
(2/2 cont.) Juszczyk is happy to return to the #49ers, talks have been pleasant, meanwhile the opportunity to test the free agent market is there as well.
— IG: JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) February 23, 2021