San Francisco 49ers general manager sent out a tweet late last night that indicated the team is looking to lock up fullback Kyle Juszczyk before the start of free agency—or even before Monday's start of "legal tampering," when player representatives can begin negotiating with other teams.
Until then, San Francisco has sole negotiating rights with its players scheduled to become free agents.
According to Ian Rapoport, Juszczyk may not be the only priority over the next few days. The NFL insider named two other impending free agents who the 49ers would like to keep off the open market.
"What the 49ers are trying to do is lock in some of their key guys and keep them home," Rapoport told Andrew Siciliano on NFL Network before commenting on Lynch's tweet.
Rapoport says the deal with Juszczyk is "close to being done," and he expects it to be finalized at some point today.
"I would expect Juszczyk to remain in San Francisco when that deal gets finalized," Rapoport continued. "That's not the only priority they have. ... Trent Williams, their left tackle, who they traded for last year, became a Pro Bowler and might have had his best season of his career. They want to bring him in. That's going to be big dollars. He has yet to accept their deal. We'll see if he ends up getting to free agency or if they can finalize it today.
"And then, of course, Jason Verrett, one of the coolest stories in the NFL. A comeback story for a player who spent most of his career injured; had a resurgent year last year. There's an attempt by the 49ers to keep him there. We'll see if they're able to lock all three of those before business starts tomorrow."
From Free Agency Frenzy: The #49ers hope to be spending this free agency, but the goal would be to bring back their own guys. They have several top targets. pic.twitter.com/zNzBEOHan0
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 14, 2021
