5 pending free agents 49ers must re-sign in 2021

No. 1: 49ers Tight End George Kittle

The last player on this list should be fairly obvious.

All-Pro tight end George Kittle is the best in the game at his position. Let’s get that out of the way, and we can back it up with the numerous records he holds, including most single-season receiving yards by a tight end (1,377), most receiving yards by a rookie tight end drafted in Round 5 or later since 1970 (515) and most receiving yards by a tight end over the first three years of his career (2,945).

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The accolades are there on paper, and one needs little introduction to understand just how much more he does in areas not necessarily showing up on the stat sheet.

As a blocker or a decoy? Those boxes are checked, too.

Needless to say, Kittle is going to reset the tight end market, which is currently held by the leader, the Los Angeles Chargers’ Hunter Henry, at $10.6 million annual average value. Kittle’s new contract could be anywhere within the range of $13 million to possibly as high as $20 million per season, getting into top wide receiver money.

Now, the 49ers would ideally like to extend Kittle before he comes anywhere close to free agency. But doing that isn’t going to be easy, especially with the likelihood of NFL revenue streams and subsequent cap space diminishing in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, Kittle’s importance to San Francisco can’t be overstated, and the team must make any and all overtures to ensure he doesn’t go anywhere in 2021.