49ers Decline Solomon Thomas' Fifth-Year Option

The 49ers will not pick up the fifth-year option in Solomon Thomas’ rookie contract, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Good. Now the 49ers need to cut Thomas.

Thomas is a bust. Not his fault. He didn’t take himself with the third pick in the 2017 draft. The 49ers picked him. In retrospect, Thomas should have been a Day 3 pick, because he has no position. He’s too small to play defensive tackle, and not good enough to play defensive end. He’s a tweener with short arms. He’s built more like a wrestler than a football player.

Thomas has recorded just six sacks in three seasons. The 49ers picked him ahead of Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, because Kyle Shanahan wanted to sign Kirk Cousins in 2018.

Thomas almost certainly won’t turn his career around the way Arik Armstead did. Armstead always was a powerful player -- he pushed around NFL offensive linemen even as a rookie. He just didn’t finish plays. He would lose sight of the running back or run past the quarterback in the pocket. He didn’t have a great feel for football and he didn’t always play hard through the whistle.

Thomas always plays hard. He’s earnest. He tries to justify all the money the 49ers pay him, but he simply can’t. He gets stuck on blocks too often.

Thomas probably won’t play much next season, and he will cost the 49ers more than $9 million. If the 49ers’ were to release him, they would save only $90,000, because his contract is fully guaranteed.

Doesn’t matter. Even if the 49ers were to save nothing, they should cut Thomas.

He has no use to them. He’s the worst player on their defensive line.

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