49ers linebacker Larry Grant is a restricted free agent this year and it sounds like the team is prepared to bide its time with him. Matt Maiocco is reporting the 49ers are prepared to tender Grant and see how the market plays out. There is no word on the level of the tender and the 49ers have until Tuesday to make their decision.
The 49ers have a couple options at their disposal when it comes to the tender. With both options Grant would be allowed to speak to other teams and sign an offer sheet. If the 49ers elected to match that offer sheet then they keep Grant. If the 49ers do not want to match that offer sheet they would get draft pick compensation.
First, they could use an equal-round tender. This means they would get a pick in the round in which Grant was originally drafted, which was the seventh round. Second, they could use a second round tender, which would get them a second round pick if they did not want to match a given offer. If Grant went out and could not find a sufficient offer sheet to sign, he could then decide to sign the tender contract, which is a one year deal. For the equal round tender, Grant would receive $1.26 million. For the second round tender, Grant would receive $1.92 million. This past season, Grant played on a one year contract for $600,000.
The higher the tender the less likely it is for a player to get an offer sheet. If the 49ers elect to play a second round tender on Grant, it will be interesting to see how other teams value him. Grant was strong on special teams and also provided very solid play when Patrick Willis was hurt. This also followed the Rams basically letting him walk, so it remains to be seen how other teams view him when there is draft pick compensation on the line.