The San Francisco 49ers do not have a large number of free agents they will be re-signing, but general manager John Lynch discussed kicker Robbie Gould and offensive guard Mike Person in his Thursday meeting with media at the Senior Bowl.
Gould is the most notable free agent the 49ers will consider re-signing. He turned 36 in December, and yet continues to put up fantastic numbers. He converted 97.1 percent of his field goals, including both from 50+ yards. He was selected as a Pro Bowl alternate for his performance.
Lynch said the two sides are talking and he is hopeful of getting something done, but that nothing is imminent. He acknowledged that Gould, “kicked unbelievably for us [and w]e’d like to reward him for that.”
The 49ers have exclusive negotiating rights with him until the start of the new league year, but they could also use their franchise tag on him. That would pay Gould $5,088,000 in a fully guaranteed salary. It also gives the two sides until July 15th to work out an extension. No team would give up a first round pick for Gould, so the tag would give the two sides time to try and figure something out.
Lynch was complimentary of Mike Person as well, saying he “played well for us” and “was valuable for us.” He said the team is “interested in trying to do something there.” Person played this season on a one-year deal, and played almost exclusively right guard. He beat out Joshua Garnett for the job after the latter suffered an injury in training camp.
Person also got ten snaps at center in Week 9 when Weston Richburg got hurt. With Richburg sidelined through the summer, the team will be looking for some center depth. Erik Magnuson and Najee Toran are the two most likely to get center work, but the team could still bring back Person on another one year deal for more depth.