The San Francisco 49ers have one critical order of business to fix up before they can feel totally ready to look ahead to next season. The matter of Dashon Goldson and his contract.
Goldson is coming off his best year as an NFL pro, He understandably wants a raise because NFL careers can be very short. Unfortunately, that raise is a bit steep even for the 49ers to consider reasonable. Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area has this report.
Goldson is seeking a contract with an annual average of $8 million, a source told CSNBayArea.com. He is scheduled to earn $6.212 on a one-year franchise tender. The 49ers probably are not be willing to go more than $7 million per year, the source said.
The 49ers have until July 16 to sign Goldson to a long-term extension. After that date, teams can sign their franchise players only to one-year deals. They are prohibited from reaching a multi-year extension until after the final regular-season game.
While it'd be more easily resolved if the 49ers would just pay up, Goldson asking for this much is probably not the way San Francisco wants to go. San Francisco likes its backup plans in C.J. Spillman and Trenton Robinson, both of whom have been thriving in Goldson's absence.
"It's a great feeling to get out there with guys I looked up to even before I got an opportunity to play in the NFL," Robinson said. "To get that opportunity to get out there and show what I can do, it's great. Even when I'm not running with the vets, I get a lot of reps with the rookies. It's a great opportunity."
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"The coaches saw the potential I have with what little I played," Spillman said. "For them to sit there and put a lot of confidence in me, that showed me when it's time to go, I got to make sure I'm ready to go."
While these developments are encouraging, San Francisco would probably prefer Goldson in the lineup. That doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon.
Neither side is budging yet. How much of a distraction could this be if this progresses into camp?
Talk about Goldson with 49ers fans over at Niners Nation.
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