The San Francisco 49ers start their first practice of training camp in a couple hours, and Solomon Thomas remains unsigned. General manager John Lynch made an appearance on KNBR this morning (podcast shortly), and he said that he feels like the two sides are extremely close to getting this done.
While it is Thomas’ agent handling negotiations, the rookie defensive tackle is likely near the team’s facility if things are getting close. He’ll need to take a physical once the contract is done, so he might miss the start of practice, but if a deal gets done in the next couple hours, he would likely at least be able to take part in team meetings and activities later today.
The 49ers went down near the wire last year as well with Joshua Garnett. He signed the night before camp. There has been no word on the specifics of Thomas’ delay, but usually it involves offset language in the contract. The 49ers also include roster bonuses in future seasons for their rookie contracts, which could potentially impact negotiations as well.
Either way, hopefully something gets done in the coming hours. If not, maybe it’ll be time to bring in MC Hammer!