SANTA CLARA, California – John Francisco, general manager of the San Francisco 49ers, teased it late Saturday night, but it only became official on Sunday: The Niners keep fullback Kyle Juszczyk in the kraal.
With the goal of re-signing Juszczyk before the early negotiations window opens on Monday, the Niners and their versatile full-back have agreed on a $ 27 million five-year deal guaranteed with $ 10 million, a source told Adam Schefter on Sunday night. ESPN, said.
Joe Linta, Juszczyk’s agent, confirmed via Twitter that a five-year agreement has been reached.
The deal with Juszczyk comes less than 24 hours after Lynch sent a cryptic tweet Sunday night, saying, “I’m thirsty. Niners fans want a little ‘Juice?'” Lynch’s tweet was a clear reference to Juszczyk , nicknamed “Juice” and has become a favorite in the Bay and in the dressing room of Niners.
“I think he’s one of the ones,” George Kittle said at the end of the season. “I do not know that anyone does the things he does on the football field. I also think he is incredibly undervalued. But people who watch football, the people who understand football, they get how important Juice is.”
Juszczyk also confirmed the five-year deal and thanked the organization on social media on Sunday night.
San Francisco has more than twenty players who will become unlimited free agents, and has preferred about half a dozen of the new league year. Retaining Juszczyk allows the 49ers to continue to do business with their other top priorities, including left-backs, Trent Williams, and K’Waun Williams and Jason Verrett.
The 49ers initially signed Juszczyk to a $ 21 million four-year deal in 2017, a contract that could easily surpass any previous full-back deal. In four seasons since, Juszczyk’s 102 receptions for 1,080 yards and seven touchdowns have dwarfed the 43 catches, 399 yards and four touchdowns of the nearest fullback in each of these categories.
Juszczyk’s versatility has become a focal point of Shanahan’s offense, emphasizing that things look similar in terms of staffing and alignment, but adding wrinkles that throw away the defense. Juszczyk embodied this by standing in the slot (9.3% of his snaps), outside receiver (7.2%), inline (11.5%) and in the backfield (72%).
The attack, coach Kyle Shanahan, has used a fullback as any team in the league since acquiring Juszczyk and has had much more success with him on the field.
With two backs on the field, the 49ers averaged 5.99 yards per game (second in the NFL), 4.49 yards per rush (fifth) and 8.65 yards per pass (third). With one or no runs on the field, the numbers drop to 5.45 (20th), 4.26 (23rd) and 6.48 (19th).