3 players 49ers may dangle on trade block in 2021
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: 49ers Left Guard Laken Tomlinson
It’s rare for teams to trade for players entering the final year of their contract. But what’s common is for playoff-caliber teams to suffer a good deal of injury attrition along their offensive lines as the regular season moves along.
If this happens to be the case in 2021, the 49ers may explore a trade attempt involving their current starting left guard, Laken Tomlinson, who’ll be a free agent next year but has been one of the more reliable and available linemen the Niners have had since being acquired from the Detroit Lions back in 2017.
According to Over the Cap, San Francisco is still committed to Tomlinson’s $1.59 million in guaranteed money and will owe him just over $330,000 in voided bonus years between 2022 and 2024.
But with a per-game roster bonus of $400,000, it’s not hard to see how moving Tomlinson by the deadline could free up a good deal of cash.
At 29 years old, Tomlinson still has a few more years of quality football left in him. And guards don’t tend to be expensive re-signs anyway.
From the 49ers’ vantage point, they recently drafted Notre Dame guard Aaron Banks, who’ll likely compete for the chance to start at right guard this season but primarily played left guard in college. Should that swap take place after a would-be Tomlinson trade, it’s likely Daniel Brunskill once again assumes a starting job at right guard, thereby making Tomlinson an odd man out.
Tomlinson might not command much in return, perhaps nothing higher than a Round 4 pick. Yet that asset could prove to be valuable as part of a trade-up package next year.