The will-he-or-won’t-he portion of the NFL offseason has arrived.
In the case of the San Francisco 49ers, quarterback Brock Purdy will. Tight end George Kittle won’t — for now, at least.
49ers voluntary offseason activities began on Tuesday. The key word here is “voluntary.” Players aren’t contractually required to show up. Purdy and Kittle are both signed to contracts scheduled to expire next offseason. They’re both engaged in negotiations with the 49ers on extensions.
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Purdy was present for Tuesday’s activities, which are scheduled to go on for two weeks and be mostly limited to meetings, strength and conditioning and physical rehab. Kittle was not.
“That’s Brock. He’s a pro,” 49ers general manager John Lynch said of Purdy on Tuesday, per the Mercury News’ Cam Inman. “… We’re grateful for him and looking forward to having him as our QB a long time.”
Will the 49ers reach extensions with both Brock Purdy and George Kittle? (Robin Alam/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
(Robin Alam/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
So, in this instance, is Kittle not a pro? Here’s what Lynch had to say about Kittle and whether or not he expects Kittle to show up for this initial phase of OTAs.
“We’ll see,” Lynch said, per ESPN’s 49ers reporter Nick Wagoner. “We’ve had good communication. Good talks and we’ll see where that goes.”
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Wagoner adds that it’s not unusual for Kittle or other veterans to not show up for this phase of activities. Again, they’re voluntary. And chatter and speculation about who shows up and who doesn’t is frequently much ado about nothing. In this instance, we’ll see.
Purdy’s scheduled to play on the final year of a four-year, $3.74 million rookie contract that he signed as the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. He’s due for an enormous pay raise that will make him one of the highest-paid players in football and that will hamstring San Francisco’s ability to build around him under the salary cap relative to his rookie deal.
Kittle is approaching the final year of a five-year, $75 million contract and is due $14.4 million in 2025. At 31 years old and coming off his fifth All-Pro campaign, Kittle’s projected for one last big NFL payday. Until Purdy and Kittle sign — or don’t — their contract status will remain a storyline in San Francisco.
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