The 49ers are picking up Mike McGlinchey’s fifth-year option

There was one question during John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan’s press conference this afternoon that wasn’t about quarterbacks. The 49ers’ duo were asked whether they’d be picking up right tackle Mike McGlinchey’s fifth-year option.

Without hesitation, Lynch said that the team would do so. That shouldn’t come as a surprise. Every time the 49ers speak about McGlinchey, they speak highly of him. They’ve acknowledged that he has to get better, but, in their mind, they believe it’d hard to upgrade from the first-rounder.

Before the trade up to No. 3, a part of me felt like the Niners should toy with the idea of moving McGlinchey and using that pick on an offensive lineman in the draft. This is one of the best and deepest classes at offensive tackle.

You could find a starter with the pick you’d get back for McGlinchey while not having to pay him $10.88 million in 2022, or whatever number both sides agree on. That sounds good in theory or in Madden, but not in real life.

Shanahan is on record saying that you don’t trade a player and then use that draft pick to replace him. So, that theory went out of the door.

The next step for both sides would be to work out an extension. I’m curious to see what McGlinchey’s valuation is compared to the other top tackles in the NFL. McGlinchey’s fifth-year option would make him the fifth-highest paid right tackle in the league as of today. That’s probably going to be around the money he makes once a multi-year extension happens.