Since the lockout came to an end there has been absolutely nothing said about the future of Aubrayo Franklin. No rumors of discussions with another team, no rumors of 49ers interest one way or another. For a fairly high profile free agent in this day and age of twitter and instant news, that's fairly surprising.
Well, we have our first modest bit of news. The beat writers at training camp (links below) are all tweeting that Isaac Sopoaga was apparently told last night by Jim Tomsula that he would be moving to nose tackle. Given Aubrayo Franklin's previous role as the starting nose tackle, this would seem to be the best indication yet that Franklin is not in the 49ers plans moving forward. The signing of Ray McDonald indicate the writing might have been on the wall, but this would be one of the final nails in the coffin.
As it currently stands, the defensive line would appear to be Sopoaga, McDonald and Justin Smith. Where does this leave Ricky Jean-Francois? I'm curious to see if he'll rotate in at nose tackle or spell McDonald from time to time.
On a side note, now that training camp is starting up, make sure and follow the 49ers beat writers on Twitter: