© Jason Getz | 2019 Dec 22
The 49ers had a number of holes to fill on their roster this offseason. That’s why it was curious to some that San Francisco seemed to be targeting a pass-catching tight end early during the free agency period, despite having arguably the best tight end in the league in George Kittle. The team even reportedly tried to sign Austin Hooper, who eventually inked a $44 million deal with the Browns.
So what were John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan thinking? Matt Barrows broke that down on Wednesday with Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks, explaining that the 49ers wanted both insurance for Kittle, and the option of running more dynamic two TE sets.
“They watched the Ravens last year who have three high-end tight ends, so they knew first hand how difficult that is,” Barrows began. “And of course going back to New England when Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski were there. That’s a double-edged sword that is very difficult for defenses to handle.
“But also they are about to make a huge investment in George Kittle. He’s a guy that plays 92 to 95 percent of the team’s snaps. He’s a hard guy to take off the field because he’s so good at every facet of the game. Moving forward if you have that investment in him and you want him to be a 10 year player, you can’t allow him to get the abuse that he does. And it’s self inflicted. I mean he wants to be out there, but you have to take him off the field.
“Having a really good number two guy would make that easier, it would make it easier for (TE coach) Jon Embree to say ‘Okay George, we need you off the field for these next five snaps.’”
Listen to the full interview below.