3 players SF 49ers must offer extensions to in 2021

No. 3: SF 49ers Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair

Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair has been nothing but reliable during his first two years with the SF 49ers after going undrafted in 2019. Primarily acting as a backup linebacker, he has been called upon quite a bit to fill in for injured starters and has shown his worth to the Niners brass.

He’s actually a free agent, of the restricted variety, after the 2021 season since he was signed as a UFDA in 2019. But the Niners should by no means let him walk as he would expectedly be heavily sought after by division rivals such as the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals who could use starting-caliber depth at the second level of their defenses.

San Francisco has, in recent years, become kind of famous for finding diamonds in the rough on both sides of the ball. But it would still be in the team’s interest to keep a player like Al-Shaair around.

He is set to make only $850 000 in the 2021 season, so a pay raise to around $3 million starting in 2022 would seem fair for a player who has started nine games in two seasons in red and gold. The departure of now-New Orleans Saints linebacker Kwon Alexander via trade during the 2020 season also seems to show the SF 49ers are confident with Al-Shaair being a part of their main linebacking unit for at least a few more seasons. It’s probable that the 49ers try and grab another linebacker in the later rounds of the 2021 draft, but they will surely concentrate primarily on fixing their cornerback and offensive line issues first.

Al-Shaair’s final 2020 stat line was actually quite impressive for someone who only started in five games, producing one forced fumble, one interception, two pass deflections, one quarterback hit and 35 total tackles.

Hopefully, the Niners reward the 23-year-old Al-Shaair after getting him at such a bargain the last couple of years and keep him around for years to come.