Are the 49ers Stringing George Kittle Along?

All Pro tight end George Kittle is yet to be an offered an extension by the San Francisco 49ers. An extension that the 49ers have noted since before the offseason started. They knew Kittle was going to need to be taken care of, yet they are taking their sweet time doing so.

Yes, having a tight salary cap does make it restrictive to get it done, especially since Kittle will reset the tight end market. However, the Kansas City Chiefs had no issue extending Patrick Mahomes and Chris Jones on a similar salary cap to the 49ers.

Kittle definitely could have been locked up by now, so why aren't the 49ers executing it? It could be that they are not comfortable with paying Kittle such a high sum of money. It wouldn't be the first time that the 49ers didn't want to give top dollar to one of their own elite players (Ex. DeForest Buckner).

In fact, the 49ers seem more willing to give out lucrative deals to free agents and newly acquired players than their own homegrown talent. Kwon Alexander, Dee Ford, Tevin Coleman -- each of these players were wooed by the 49ers and taken care of. Why isn't that happening to the elite players that have already been there?

It kind of makes you think, are the 49ers just stringing Kittle along?

Think about it. Why were the 49ers keying in on Austin Hooper during free agency? Was Kittle going to get lumped into a similar trade scenario like Buckner? It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. And this situation is fluid. Much can change for the 49ers. All of these are valid reasons to believe that the 49ers could be stringing Kittle along.

However, I do not think that is the case.

The current pandemic has stuck a knife in the 49ers' and the rest of the NFL's future plans. Uncertainty about the cash flow could undo everything that this team has planned. And for a team that loves to back-load their contracts with players, the potential dramatic drop of the salary cap next season could do in the 49ers.

So while the 49ers can extend Kittle at this very moment, they are exercising extreme caution to avoid cap-strapping themselves more than they already will be should the cap decline heavily. Had the future of the cap not be an issue, then I would bet that Kittle would have been taken care of by now.

The only reason the Chiefs gambled heavily on Mahomes, and especially Jones, is because they truly believe the cap will be rising for the foreseeable future. They also view their window of opportunity currently and are okay with sliding all of their chips to the middle of the table.

That isn't the 49ers M.O. to be so aggressive. Until the future of the salary cap becomes clear, Kittle will just have to continue playing on his rookie deal.

Besides, the 49ers cannot be stringing him along. When they traded Buckner to the Colts, they pretty much said that they are committing to Kittle. Handing out two lucrative deals was going to be such a burden to the 49ers.

Just look at how the Los Angeles Rams handled paying all of their players top dollar. They are a shell of themselves from the Super Bowl team a couple of years ago.

Taking precaution with Kittle's deal is wise for the 49ers. There is no rush from the two sides so long as they both believe they are operating in good faith.

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