49ers news: 2021 NFL free agency tracker with updates, analysis

49ers re-sign Kyle Juszczyk to a 5-year deal

Anyone who was hanging around 49ers Twitter over the weekend caught a pretty provocative exchange between John Lynch, CEO Jed York and eventually Kyle Juszczyk:

Whatever happened during that FaceTime between Niners brass and Juszczyk had to be entertaining, to say the least.

Either way, San Francisco ensured one of its most versatile weapons on the field wouldn’t be leaving in free agency this offseason, as Juszczyk subsequently received a five-year contract worth up to $27 million with $10 million guaranteed.

Juszczyk’s initial four-year contract worth $21 million, signed back when he joined the team in 2017, was already the record-setter and outlier for fullbacks. This deal is, too, with nearly an identical amount of annual average as the previous one.

For those complaining about the amount, Juszczyk’s guaranteed money is what’s important to note. The full details aren’t quite available, so it’s possible the contract has easy outs after two years. But this should help matters a lot:

And considering there isn’t exactly anyone else out there who handles Juszczyk-like duties for head coach Kyle Shanahan, it makes sense why the 49ers were willing to prioritize their fullback despite the league trending towards doing away with the position.

It might still be an outlier. But that doesn’t change the fact the Niners offense functions so much better with Juszczyk on the field compared to when he’s been out of the lineup.