49ers notebook: Team working towards Kittle contract, Thomas option unlikely

The 49ers have tried to get a contract extension done with George Kittle, though nothing has been agreed to. Yet general manager John Lynch is optimistic a lucrative new deal with the All-Pro tight end will come at some point, with the bulk of free agency and the NFL draft completed.

“We’re very interested,” Lynch said Thursday morning on 957 The Game. “George isn’t going anywhere. We’re going to work hard to try to get it done. I think they’ve got motivation just to reset the tight end market, as do we for him. It’s just finding that sweet spot.”

Kittle will likely become the highest-paid tight end in the NFL and could make north of $12 million per season. Free agent Austin Hooper received the largest contract for the position in the league from the Cleveland Browns when he inked a four-year deal worth up to $44 million, with $23 million in guarantees, last month.

Kittle, a two-time Pro Bowler and team captain, is the 49ers’ only tight end in team history to eclipse 1,000 yards in a season and has done it the last two years. He set the NFL record for the position with 1,377 yards in 2018 and led the NFC champions last year with 85 catches for 1,053 yards. He’s also widely regarded as the premier blocking tight in the league.

Kittle earned $719,574 last season and is due to cost more than $2.2 million against the cap in 2020. He made roughly $1.9 million since being a fifth-round draft pick in 2017.

After adding five players in the draft, including two first-round picks, defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco has roughly $6.9 million in remaining salary cap space this season. Kittle has one year remaining on his rookie contract and became eligible for a new deal at the end of the 2019 campaign.

“When that (extension) happens, I don’t know,” Lynch said. “But we’re working hard, as are they, to try to make that happen. George is going to be a part of the 49ers for a long, long time.”

The 49ers in March gave a five-year, $85 million extension to defensive lineman Arik Armstead that includes a modest $6 million cap figure for 2020 before escalating to $12.5 million and $20 million the following two seasons. The team could structure Kittle’s contract in a similar way as cap space is expected to be more abundant in 2021 and 2022.

Option unlikely for Thomas, but extension possible

Lynch indicated the 49ers are unlikely to pick up the fifth-year option for 2017 first-round draft choice Solomon Thomas, though he could sign a new deal to ensure his future with the team like the club did with left guard Laken Tomlinson in 2018, Lynch said.

“So I don’t think that’s any absolute or it doesn’t mean that we don’t love Solomon,” said Lynch. “I think we’re incredibly encouraged. Solomon’s going to (have) a big part.”

The deadline to exercise Thomas’ guaranteed option for 2021 is Monday. San Francisco moved back one spot in a trade with the Chicago Bears to take the Stanford defensive lineman third overall with the first selection made by Lynch and Kyle Shanahan after getting hired. Thomas’ fifth-year option would pay him the average of the 10 highest-paid players at his position.

Thomas’ production has been disappointing. He has six sacks and 16 tackles for loss in three seasons. He made just three starts last year working as a backup behind Armstead, DeForest Buckner, Nick Bosa and Dee Ford. The 49ers have tried Thomas as a defensive end in running downs and kicked him inside in passing situations.

With Buckner traded to the Indianapolis Colts and the 49ers working in Kinlaw, Thomas could have an expanded role this season after changing his body to add more strength.

“Everybody’s who’s watched us knows we rotate a lot of players there,” Lynch said. “We believe in them going as hard as they can and then we rotate, kind of like hockey lines. Solomon’s going to be a big part of that rotation. We’ve kind of charged him with putting a little weight on. Last year he got really light, which helped in his quickness, but I don’t know if he had enough substance in terms of weight. And so he’s going to come back a little heavier.”

The Tomlinson blueprint would make sense for Thomas if the 49ers want to keep him around without paying a premium. Tomlinson, who was a first-round pick of the Detroit Lions in 2015 before getting traded to San Francisco in 2017, signed a three-year extension worth up to $18 million a year after the 49ers declined his fifth-year option. Tomlinson has started every game since.

Thomas would be an unrestricted free agent next March without his option picked up or a new contract.

This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 10:09 AM.