While they haven’t been able to win a Super Bowl with their current roster construction, it’s hard to criticize the San Francisco 49ers too much in recent times. Despite constantly dealing with a slew of critical injuries, general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have continued to put forth a competitive roster that hangs around deep into the postseason.
Yet, despite all of San Francisco’s draft finds, whether it’s Brock Purdy with the very last selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, there have also been some misses. When those draft whiffs come in the first round, they become much more noticeable.
In this case, we’re not ready to declare defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw a draft bust, but the 25-year-old’s inability to stay healthy could end up complicating his future in San Francisco.
He’s set to enter his fourth season in the NFL after becoming the 14th overall pick in 2020, and now the 49ers have to decide whether they want to pick up his fifth-year player option to keep him under contract through 2024.
Kinlaw has played in just 24 games in the past three seasons, and has tallied just 1.5 sacks to go with a total of 45 tackles. These may be acceptable statistics for one season from a starter, but not a player about to enter his fourth year in the NFL.
Now according to The Athletic‘s Matt Barrows and David Lombardi, Kinlaw is “unlikely” to have his fifth-year contract option picked up, which would make him a free agent at the end of the 2023 season.
Yet, Kinlaw has one more year to prove his worth. But it all starts with getting on the field, and staying healthy for a full season. Perhaps when the year is done, the 49ers will have regrets about not paying Kinlaw $10.4 million in 2024, but at this point, that price tag is extremely hard to justify.
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