San Francisco 49ers guard Alex Boone is not attending organized team activities this week and wants a new contract from the team. Boone, who went undrafted back in 2010 from Ohio State due to off-field concerns, took over the starting right guard job in 2012 and has been one of the better interior linemen in the NFL over the past two seasons.
#49ers Guard Alex Boone not attending voluntary OTAS. He wants a new contract. He has two seasons left on deal.
— Bill Williamson (@BWilliamsonNFL) May 27, 2014
Boone is set to make just $2 million in 2014 and has two years remaining on his contract.
Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee filed this report earlier Tuesday afternoon.
Boone is represented by Jonathan Feinsod and Neil Schwartz. Several of their clients, from Darrelle Revis to Vincent Jackson to Roddy White, have held out for better contracts in recent years. Feinsod had no comment on a potential holdout by Boone when reached today.
If Boone does holdout of mandatory minicamp next month, you can expect the 49ers to take a hard-line stance on the situation. They have other players up for extensions, including Colin Kaepernick, Michael Crabtree and Mike Iupati. To say that Boone doesn’t top their list of priorities would be an understatement.
The team did select former Clemson guard Brandon Thomas in the third round of the 2014 draft, but he’s going to sit out the season with a torn ACL. In addition to this, Daniel Kilgore could slide in as a starting guard, especially if rookie Marcus Martin earns the starting center position.
Of course this is all conjecture. After all, the OTA’s taking place this week are not mandatory.
Photo: Mark J. Rebilas, USA Today