The NFL’s Monday deadline for franchise tagged players to agree to multi-year deals with teams is looming larger by the minute. As it has gone since the team first drafted him, Dashon Goldson has not agreed to anything with the 49ers.
Goldson, who is coming off of the first Pro Bowl season season of his career, gave 49ers fans reason to breathe a little easier when he went on SiriusXM NFL radio Tuesday and talked about his situation.
Dashon Goldson (Center) is pictured with Elmer (Left) and Raela (Right)
“All these one-year/one-year (contracts) is not what any player would want. We know what we put our bodies through and what we do for our teams. But it’s all good. There’s no love lost or anything like that. I just hope something will get done. If not, I’ll still be a 49er.”
That’s nice to hear, as Goldson was a pivotal piece of the 49ers prolific 2011 defense. Over 16 games he recorded 67 tackles, 55 solo with 6 interceptions and 1 very important fumble recovery against the Eagles. He enjoyed his best season in 2009 (94 tackles, 76 solo, 2 sacks and 4 ints in 16 games), but regressed in his 2010 contract year (80 tackles, 62 solo, 1 sack and 1 pick 6 in 16 games), a fact that probably lead to some tentative negotiations.
Last off-season, Goldson and the 49ers had all but parted ways, until Goldson arrived in a free agent market that saw no value in his services. He returned to the 49ers on a 1-year $2M deal and shined.
According to Cam Inman, Goldson turned down a 5-year $25M dollar deal with the club last year and is probably seeking a deal similar to the 5-year $36M deal that the Tennessee Titans gave Michael Griffin this offseason.
That is an awfully steep price tag for a player that has really only played 2 stand out seasons in 5 years. Griffin’s stats over his 5 year career with the Titans (389 tackles, 298 solo, 2 sacks, 7 FF, 17 Ints) are certainly more worthy of top dollar than Goldson’s (277 tackles, 223 solo, 3 sacks, 4 sacks, 11 Ints) over the same timespan.
If that is his asking price, Goldson will probably have a hard time finding common ground and agreeing to a long term deal. After all, GM Trent Baalke proved in last offseason’s dealings with Goldson that he won’t overpay for any player, regardless of how much they’re needed. I doubt if this situation will prove any different.
