The San Francisco 49ers have agreed to terms with Quinton Dial on a three-year contract extension, locking him up through 2019. Dial was drafted in 2013, which meant his rookie contract ran through the 2016 season. The 49ers are expected to pick up free safety Eric Reid's 2017 option, but in the meantime, Dial is the first of member of their 2013 class to get extended.
Dial has three seasons under his belt, and joined the starting lineup in 2015. He emerged as a strong presence on the line, and will be one of the starting ends in 2016. Ian Williams is still a free agent, and it remains to be seen if Arik Armstead will emerge as a starter this coming season at the other end role. For now though, we know Dial is one foundation of the line.
Dial missed a chunk of his rookie season while recovering from a turf toe injury suffered in college. He had surgery at the beginning of the calendar year, and was placed on the NFI list to start the 2013 season. He was activated in October, and got playing time in three games. He was a DNP in a fourth game, and inactive for the remaining six games. He finished the season with 18 defensive snaps.
In 2014, Dial finished with 327 snaps, which was good for 31.2 percent of the team's total defensive snaps. Justin Smith and Ray McDonald led the way, getting 66.2 percent and 66.1 percent of the defensive snaps, respectively. Tony Jerod-Eddie was the primary rotational lineman. Dial saw a big bump in his snaps in the second half of the season after Ian Williams suffered a broken leg. Dial became the starting nose tackle the latter half of the season.