Kittle raise is coming, team promises
Shanahan, Lynch meet with tight end, stress importance of reaching a deal
George Kittle’s wellearned raise is coming, the 49ers’ brass asserted Monday.
Exactly when will the All-Pro tight end strike a contract extension? It did not happen before Monday’s first team meeting of training camp, but Kittle did meet with head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.
“I feel really good about this going forward. I feel very optimistic about it,” Shanahan said on a video conference with reporters. “Hopefully something will happen sooner than later. Not too concerned about it, though.”
The 49ers did lock up a potential blockbuster, tagteam partner for Kittle, agreeing to a one-year contract with former Washington tight end Jordan Reed, his agent confirmed.
Reed missed last season after sustaining his seventh concussion. If healthy, he and Kittle would make a formidable duo in an offense that often deploys two tight ends, especially if the 49ers start the season without wide receiver Deebo Samuel because of a foot injury.
Kittle is entering the final year of his rookie contract, at a $2.15 million salary, which is about $13 million less than the potential annual average of a new deal.
“We don’t have to say how important George is to us, not only as the best tight end in the league but also the type of person he is,” Shanahan said. “We’re doing everything we can to get that done. I do feel good about it. It was great to see George for the first time (of camp).”
Monday marked the 49ers’ first, in-person reunion since heading into the offseason after their Super Bowl defeat, and Shanahan said his team meeting was devoted to discussing COVID-19 safety protocols, adding: “Football doesn’t matter if you don’t handle COVID right.”
How the 49ers handle Kittle’s extension is paramount to their salary cap concerns and teamwide perception for rewarding homegrown stars. Lynch did not provide any timeline on a deal’s potential deadline.
“There’s a great understanding we’re in this thing together, we’re partners to try to get something done, because it makes too much
sense not to,” Lynch said.
Kittle totaled more receiving yards than any tight end in NFL history through three seasons, and he is a two-time captain.
While Hunter Henry is fetching $10.6 million under the Los Angeles Chargers’ franchise tag, the NFL’s other tight ends are garnering under $10 million annually, including Tampa Bay’s Rob Gronkowski ($9 million) and Kansas City’s Travis Kelce, who signed an extension four years ago for $9.4 million annually.
Kittle reported last Tuesday with all the other 49ers’ veterans to begin COVID-19 testing. Three negative tests are required before players are allowed entry into the team facility, and the only players to go on the NFL’s COVID-19 reserve list are Richie James Jr. and Jeff Wilson Jr. James came off that list Monday and was moved to the active/nonfootball-injury list because of a fractured wrist during offseason workouts.
Lynch said no players have approached him about opting
out of the 2020 season.
To make roster room for Jordan Reed, the 49ers put defensive back D.J. Reed on the reserve/non-football-injury list, essentially ending his 2020 roster shot because of an offseason torn pectoral.
Jordan Reed produced career-best numbers in 2015 with 87 receptions for 952 yards and 11 touchdowns. An exhibition-game concussion kept him out all of last season for Washington, which also played the year without left tackle Trent Williams, who was traded to the 49ers this offseason.
“There is some risk reward. We got to a point we felt the risk we’re taking on was worth it with the potential reward,” Lynch said of Jordan Reed.
Added Shanahan: “When healthy, he’s played at an extremely high level and is one of the best third-down tight ends in the league . ... It was cool to talk to Trent Williams on Saturday a little about Jordan. I know he’s hungry to play football. Jordan’s had some bad luck over the years. I know he’s ready to go, and I hope he has some good luck here, and if he does, it will be a hell of a deal for the Niners and a really good deal for him, also.”