The 49ers took the unique measure a year ago to select tight ends in the third- and seventh rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft.
But the 49ers' unsuccessful pursuit of restricted free-agent tight end Brock Wright indicates they do not believe they have a suitable backup for George Kittle currently on their roster.
But it might go even further than that.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
As sacrilegious as it might seem, the 49ers need to prepare for life after Kittle — even if he showed no signs of slowing down in his seventh NFL season.
This is the harsh reality of professional football. And the 49ers dealt with this issue last month. The team proposed significant paycuts for their two longest-tenured players: Defensive tackle Arik Armstead and fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
Armstead declined and the 49ers released him. He made the right decision, as he quickly signed a three-year, $43.5 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars that pays him more than twice what the 49ers had offered.
Juszczyk opted to remain with the 49ers on a new deal that created $4 million in salary cap savings but keeps him atop the NFL's pay scale at his position.
San Francisco 49ers
Guess who is the next longest-tenured 49ers player? That’s Kittle.
Kittle, 30, is coming off a fifth Pro Bowl season in which he caught 60 passes for 1,020 yards and six touchdowns.
The 49ers created cap space this offseason by converting his salary to signing bonus. But next year, Kittle is scheduled to make more than $15 million in salary and bonuses on the final year of his contract.
There is little doubt Kittle and the 49ers want to keep their union going for as long as possible. But this is a business, and San Francisco undoubtedly will have to make some difficult decisions in the coming seasons.
After all, quarterback Brock Purdy is playing for cheap for only one more season. The sides can renegotiate his contract after the 2024 season, and his annual pay could increase from roughly $1 million into the $40 million range.
So the 49ers, at some point, will have to cut significant costs in order to account for Purdy’s expected mega-deal.
The Detroit Lions’ decision to match the 49ers’ offer sheet for Wright is a major setback because he was clearly penciled in as the team’s primary backup to Kittle.
The 49ers have received precious little production from any tight end not named Kittle in recent seasons. And while Wright is primarily a blocker, he proved to be a better threat in the passing game than any of the 49ers' other reserves.
Last season, Charlie Woerner and Ross Dwelley combined to catch just four passes for 44 yards.
Woerner signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons this offseason.
Coincidentally or not, that’s the exact same contract terms the 49ers arranged with Wright. But the Lions had the right of first refusal, and they matched the offer sheet.
Dwelley remains unsigned as a free agent.
The 49ers selected Cameron Latu in the third round of last year’s draft, then came back to grab Brayden Willis in the seventh round. Latu struggled in training camp before going on season-ending injured reserve with a knee injury prior to the start of the regular season.
Willis appeared in seven regular-season games and did not catch a pass while lining up for 48 offensive plays.
The 49ers still can sign a veteran tight end as they’ve done with such players as Levine Toilolo, Tyler Kroft and Troy Fumagalli in recent seasons.
But they might also need to take another swing in this month’s NFL draft to cover themselves in case Kittle is a lot closer to the end of tenure than the beginning.