Defensive end Arden Key is among several San Francisco 49ers players set to hit free agency next week. Finally able to escape what he felt was a bad situation with the Las Vegas Raiders, Key racked up 6.5 sacks, 22 tackles, five tackles for a loss, and 17 quarterback hits through 17 games last season. All were career-highs.
The 49ers would probably like to have Key return. The feeling is mutual. However, Key has put himself in a good situation and set himself up to earn a nice payday.
"I want to come back," Key told fans during an Instagram Q&A (h/t TheSFNiners). "S--t, they got to want me to come back. Well, they want me to come back. We got to see if the money right."
The Raiders made Key a third-round draft pick out of LSU in 2018. He is preparing to enter his fifth NFL season. San Francisco signed the defensive lineman to a one-year deal on April 23, 2021.
Key, 25, also shared his opinion of last year's No. 3 overall pick, quarterback Trey Lance, who started just two games this past season while serving as Jimmy Garoppolo's backup.
"Trey got better throughout the year," Key said. "He gonna be a motherf--kin' dog. He gonna be a dog. Now, granted, he gonna have to make mistakes and s--t like that because he [wasn't able] to play this [past] year, but that motherf--ker gonna be a dog, though."