UPDATE, 8:35pm: It’s now official. Juszczyk has signed a five-year extension with the 49ers worth an impressive $27MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. Rapsheet notes the contract is signed, so it’s a done deal. The pact comes with $10MM guaranteed, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets.
8:33am: About three weeks ago, we heard that the 49ers were making a push to re-sign fullback Kyle Juszczyk in advance of free agency. With the legal tampering period set to kick off tomorrow, it appears that San Francisco may have struck an accord just in time.
Late last night, Niners GM John Lynch posted the following tweet, which certainly makes it sound as if Juszczyk will be back: “I’m thirsty. Niners fans, you want some ‘Juice?'” Presumably, Lynch does not plan on bringing in O.J. Simpson in an advisory role, so that would seem to indicate that he was referring to a Juszczyk re-up.
In Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan‘s first offseason running the 49ers, they signed the former Ravens blocker to a four-year, $21MM deal. That 2017 pact still resides on its own tier at the fullback position, with only two other FBs — Derek Watt and C.J. Ham — earning more than $2MM in average annual salary.
Of course, Juszczyk is more than just a blocking fullback. While he is hardy the focal point of Shanahan’s offense, he is a useful and versatile weapon, having compiled 102 catches for 1,080 yards and 35 carries for 132 yards over the past four seasons. He has nine total touchdowns during that time, and he has earned four consecutive Pro Bowl nods for his efforts.
Because there are still no obvious comps, it could be that Juszczyk’s second contract with the 49ers will look much like his first one. But in any event, Lynch will have around $30MM in cap space heading into free agency, so he will have some ability to sign a quality FA or two and perhaps retain LT Trent Williams.
Hope he wasn’t hacked and we are bringing him and Williams back. Love whah they’ve done so far this offseason by creating more cap and bringing back a few key guys on cheap deals that hardly affect the cap
John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan always get the credit for the 49ers solid moves and signings, but they just choose the players, it is the brain and contract negotiating skills of Paraag Marathe that really what allows the 49ers to operate so efficiently!!
Paraag is one of the best in the business at how he structures the 49ers deals, so more often than not the 49srs come out on top in their negotiations. Yes, the player might get more than what some analysts projected they’d get, but Paraag structures the deal, so the 49ers aren’t really tied to said player nearly as long as it seems they are. Paraag does an excellent job making sure the 49ers are typically able to get out of deals if they fall through without them owning a bunch of dead money tied up for multiple years!!
Countless fans were complaining about the Jimmy G deal, but the way it was structured it was actually a VERY SMART and INTELLIGENT deal from the 49ers perspective!! Their deals typically more often than not end up being true win-wins, and if the 49ers wanted to they would have been easily able to cut bait with Jimmy G without having any significant dead money moving forward…
The success of a franchise, and especially sustainable success, that is almost always able to happen because of the men behind the scenes. It isn’t always just the head coach that’s why a team is successful, it is his ability to be able to surround himself with a strong group of Offensive, Defensive, and ST Coordinators, and other bright minded assistant coaches what allows for some sustainable success.
In Lynch’s and Shanahan’s case, it is their ability to work well together, be on the same page, and their abilities to rely on those around them as to why they’ve been able to find a decent level of success thus far into their respective, fairly short careers.
Paraag Marathe has been a fixture for the 49ers, structuring and creating their deals and contracts for several seasons, and while they always haven’t been winning seasons, one thing has remained, and that’s they’ve typically always been able to manipulate and dance around the salary cap!!! When they have had talent, not only have they typically been always able to add to their group from outside the organization, they’ve almost always been able to resign their own guys under Paraag!!
Paraag Marathe might not be a household name, but if your part of the 49erFaithful, you DEFINITELY know how great he is, and you don’t for one second not appreciate what all he has done for this franchise!!!
BF88, well said. He definitely does not get enough credit like the other 2. He is exceptional with contracts.. Hopefully he stays with the organization for a long time.
Yes, absolutely, well said! He doesn’t get enough credit at all! The guys really good at what he does! I see a lot of fans always complaining about contacts as if it’s their money lol but the truth is Marathi knows what he’s doing. While nobody expected COVID and for the cap to lower he has still been able to maneuver around it and down an amazing job and he doesn’t get nearly enough credit.
Glad to see the FB position isn’t dead.
Late last night, 49ers owner, Jed York, posted: “I’m the luckiest man in the world. My wife @IamDaniellems our coach #Kyle our gm @JohnLynch49ers Love my life and those I share it with”. Apparently something is happening in the Bay Area, or a hacker is targeting the Niners.
link to twitter.com
Absolutely love this guy, he’s huge for the style of offense we run and plays a huge role each game even if he doesn’t put up stats. Was key to bring this guy back. Not sure if what I’m hearing about Trent Williams is true, that he won’t accept our offer because he wants to see what others offer and wants us to top it but we really need him unless Staley is coming out of retirement lol. And I’m sure I’m in the minority but I’d rather have K Williams than Varrett, his injury history scares me and it’s hard to find a good slot CB like Williams. We can for sure find a replacement for Varrett in the draft. If we bring him back, cool but if it comes down to him and K Williams I’d much regret have K Williams.
Love how smart this francishse thinks they are. They just gave a fullback insane money but didn’t want to pay their best D-lineman. Great job Shanny. Maybe you can finish above .500 for the 2nd time in 5 years.
Insane money? It’s basically a 2 year 10 million dollar deal for the best FB in the game who is very important to the success of their run game which is one of the best run games in the NFL and Juice has a huge part in that with his blocking. Love when fans think they know how to run a team better than people who actually get paid to do JT. It’s comical.
I’ll take Buckner over Armstead and Jusz any day. But hey who wants the 3rd best D-lineman in football.
But would you take Buckner without Bosa and Ford? Armstead was forced to play at end. Was Buckner? And keeping Buckner would have Limited their spending. And Juschek was mentioned by you why? Yes,Buckner was a stud but he benefitted from great edge rushers who did not play last year. Was he considered a top 3 tackle pre-Bosa/Ford? Do you recall the domino effect of the Buckner trade and how they had more money because of the trade.
So, I’ll take Armstead, Kinlaw, over Buckner. Impretty sure Juice doesn’t play D line.
They traded Buckner because they didn’t want to pay him. They had no problem giving an inferior player (Armstead) slightly less and now paid a FB. Those 2 players will have an equal or greater cap hit than Buckner in 2021. He had a superstar season in Indy without Bosa or Ford. Dude is a monster and the best investment of all those players. Bosa’s payday was years away, they could have made it work but chose worse player(s).
Again, juice money had nothing to do with Buckner. Point was Armstead played end mostly cuz of injuries to ends. So comparison to Buckner doesn’t work. Add Kinlaw. With ends back the tackles will thrive as Buckner thrived. Armistead and Kinlaw (not Juice) for Buckner. 2 things: read better and know the game better.
So much praise for a team that will finish 7-9 lol
This was a typical Niner, under the radar move. It also signifies the Niners will continue to be a run-heavy offense. This makes sense, since whoever the QB is, the best way to protect him is to give him a stout o-line and a solid running game. Look for the team to focus on Trent Williams next in free agency.
The NFC playoffs in 2019 were less an indictment of Jimmy G than an endorsement of an overwhelming running game that beat Minnesota and Green Bay into submission. When it became clear neither team could stop the run, Kyle kept running it, guaranteeing victory by halftime.
Like the signing of Juszczyek, the Buckner trade looks foolish to outsiders. Buckner balled out this year, so criticism is being heaped on the Kinlaw signing. Let’s wait a couple years until the So. Carolina DT develops. He was more highly rated than Derrick Brown as a pass rusher coming out of college. With Bosa back, even at 80%, and a normal offseason to prepare, look for Kinlaw to make that 2nd year jump in productivity. There’s a good chance Aiyuk, acquired in the Buckner trade, develops into the best receiver in the class along with Justin Jefferson. So, two potential pro-bowl players for the price of one and a cap savings of about $15 million per year. Enough to resign George Kittle, another pro bowl player.
This is next-level team building, with an eye toward long-term excellence. The team Kyle inherited in 2017 had arguably the worst roster in the league. When fully healthy in 2019, they were one of the top 2-3 rosters. A successful draft and free agency signing will be critical to the 9ers maintaining the momentum created from their Super Bowl appearance in 2019