SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Juszczyk took a blow to his psyche early this offseason when San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch came to him following a seventh straight Pro Bowl season and told him he would need to take a pay cut in order to stay with the team.
It took a few days to process but Juszczyk decided it was best to stay in San Francisco on a reworked contract that saved the Niners about $4 million in salary cap room and paid him about $1.8 million less this year.
“At the end of the day, I feel like I have the best opportunity in the world to play here for the Niners,” he said. “I do think that I’m being taken care of in a good way as a fullback on this team. I am happy with my role. My ego took some shots, but at the end of the day, I want to be on a team that all these superstars are getting paid more money because that means they did something great the year before. I feel a part of that.”
The move with Juszczyk was one of several situations this offseason when the business side of football has taken a more prominent role for the 49ers. Defensive tackle Arik Armstead was released in March after declining to take a pay cut and San Francisco is without two of its best offensive players on the practice field so far in training camp.
Star receiver Brandon Aiyuk is conducting a “hold in” this summer and not practicing as he seeks a long-term extension to replace the fifth-year option that would pay him $14.1 million this season. All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams is holding out as he seeks an improved contract.
“I feel like every year there’s kind of been someone in that position,” Juszczyk said about contract talks hovering over the team. “Honestly, I feel kind of well versed in it. It really is something that in the locker room, we don’t take personally and we understand that guys go through that stuff and a lot of guys have gone through it ourselves. I think there’s a good understanding.”
Juszczyk’s situation was complicated by the fact that only a handful of teams regularly use a fullback, limiting his options if he were to move on from San Francisco.
The Niners made him the highest-paid fullback in the game in coach Kyle Shanahan’s first offseason with the team in 2017 and have prioritized the position.
Juszczyk has caught 262 passes for 1,695 yards and 11 TDs and rushed 55 times for 186 yards and four scores in his seven seasons with San Francisco.
He could have an added role this year as he has been working on kickoff returns as San Francisco seeks the right combination of returners under the new kickoff rules.
With the new play now looking more like a traditional offensive play, the 49ers have experimented on using Juszczyk and Deebo Samuel as tandem returners.
“There’s some real opportunities for big plays,” Juszczyk said. “I think I could help in that. I think Deebo definitely can help in that. I think we could be a good combo back there, because there’s a lot of moving parts. There has to be kind of a natural feel for those returners back there. You just have to be able to play off each other well. I think we do that.”
NOTES: QB Brock Purdy had a strong start to practice but ended it by throwing interceptions on four of his last five passes. … The Niners had their first scuffle of camp when defensive lineman T.Y. McGill and rookie OL Jarrett Kingston got into a shoving match after a play. … WR Terique Owens, the son of Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, had his best practice of camp and caught a deep TD pass from Brandon Allen.
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