Shocking News: 49ers Set to Trade Star Tight End George Kittle This Offseason
The 49ers want to spend less money this offseason.
They recently traded Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders to avoid paying him a $15.4 million option bonus on March 22. And they currently are shopping Brandon Aiyuk so they hopefully can avoid paying him a $22.885 million option bonus on April 1.
Which brings us to George Kittle. He’s under contract, but he’s entering the final season of his deal and he wants an extension. He said so at the end of the season. And he’s coming off a phenomenal year, so he probably wants a long-term extension that makes him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL.
The 49ers clearly love Kittle, but they might not want to give another lucractive extension to an older player. They gave out two of those last year to Christian McCaffrey and Trent Willams and both missed lots of games.
So if the 49ers don’t extend Kittle’s contract, that means he might hold out of training camp just like Brandon Aiyuk held out last year and Nick Bosa held out the year before.
If Kittle holds out, the 49ers could do what they usually do when star players want extensions, which is to let them hold out for the entire training camp and preseason and then give them everything they want right before the regular season begins.
Or, the 49ers could be proactive and trade Kittle.
If they know he’s not part of their long-term future, trade him now while his value as at its highest. They might be able to get a first-round pick for him.
Don’t forget, the Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill a few years ago and then won back-to-back Super Bowls without him.
Sometimes it’s better to trade a star a year too early rather than a year too late.
