The top offensive lineman on the market in free agency is Baltimore Ravens guard Kelechi Osemele. There was thought he was looking to break the bank, and that would appear to in fact be the case. NFL Network reporter Rand Getlin is reporting he could be looking at a deal in excess of $10 million per year. Getlin is reporting the Oakland Raiders and Minnesota Vikings are in the market for Osemele.
Back in early February, Jason Hurley put together a projection for Alex Boone's free agent contract. He projected Boone to potentially score a contract similar to Mike Iupati. The Arizona Cardinals signed Iupati to a 5-year $40 million deal. If Osemele is able to get a deal done at this current price point, he'd be looking at a $50 million deal if it went five years. It's important to note that the APY is not exactly the best measurement of a deal. Better measurements include total fully guaranteed money, and how other guarantees are situated.
Whatever the case, it is safe to say Osemele will do better than those projections Jason put together for the Boone article. And that would seemingly be enough to keep the 49ers out of the bidding. Trent Baalke could very well change things up and spend big bucks on interior linemen. However, his past work has shown that to not be the case. He has spent to retain tackles, but he has not spent big money on veteran guards and centers.
Will that change this time around? Or should we expect more of the same as far as Osemele is concerned?