San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch and the team's contract negotiators continue to work diligently to come to an agreement with tight end George Kittle's agent, Jack Bechta, on an extension. Fans were probably hoping that would have been finalized by now, with training camp well underway.
The situation isn't something that head coach Kyle Shanahan has to be too concerned with, for now. He remains focused on preparing his players for an unprecedented and unpredictable 2020 season, set to be played amid a pandemic. Shanahan's focus is on football and not contract negotiations.
That's the job of Lynch and his staff.
Still, Shanahan knows how important Kittle is to the 49ers. He's a special player who the coach considers to be the best overall tight end in the league.
"That's why we're doing everything we can to make sure he's here for a long time," Shanahan said Thursday on KNBR's Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks show. "Lots of stuff to talk through with that. Stuff that I am very glad I don't get paid to do.
"I'm very glad I can sit here and talk mainly football, and enjoy that stuff with George. That's been great with him because he's been great in the walk-throughs, great in the meetings.
"I know right now, as we speak, every day, I know John's upstairs working his butt off talking to Kittle's agent, and those two are trying to work it out."
As he said on Monday during a video press conference with reporters, Shanahan remains confident that a deal will get worked out. It's what both the team and the player want, after all.
"I know how bad Kittle wants to be here, and I know how bad we want him to be here," Shanahan continued. "Usually, when both sides want the same thing, at the end, it finds a way of working itself out. That's kind of what I'm putting my hat on. I'm waiting for that to happen, but as a coach, I'm very glad I'm not really involved in those right now."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below.
