San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk spent only a few days as a free agent after being released by the club. That brief spell made him realize where he wanted to continue his career.
“It was a short stint that I was a free agent, but for me, I mean, again, it felt like a lifetime,” Juszczyk told SiriusXM NFL Radio.
The fullback noted that the financial restrictions in San Francisco were “a real thing” that led to him being released after sides talked about a pay cut from his $4.1 million base salary on his old deal.
“I had had discussions with them throughout the offseason that maybe it was a possibility that I was gonna have to take a pay cut or we were gonna have to rework some things in my contract,” Juszczyk said. “I haven’t heard too much. Things are kind of looking good. But then they finally, a couple days before (the release), were like, ‘Yeah, this is a real thing, the financial restrictions we’re under are a real thing.’ And they kind of put it in my court, whether I wanted to be released or if we wanted to continue to try and negotiate a pay cut.”
Juszczyk decided to test his market, ultimately leading him back to San Francisco on a two-year, $8 million contract.
“I think, like anybody, it’s good to see what your market is,” he said. “So they gave me the opportunity to do that. So me and my agent went to work and we had some interested teams. And we explored those possibilities because I feel like that’s just fair to me and my family. You’ve got to explore those possibilities even if it’s something that, deep down, maybe you don’t want to do. We looked into it and I think, just to put it in the simplest terms, at the end of the day, it was too much to leave home. I wanted to be a Niner, and we were able to get to a number that I was comfortable with. And then we were able to make the deal, and I couldn’t be happier. And I’m trying not to look back at all. I’m just happy to be there and know I’m locked in for two more years.”
Juszczyk rejoins a Kyle Shanahan offense as a Swiss Army knife alongside Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings. The soon-to-be 34-year-old fullback is coming off a campaign in which he netted 226 scrimmage yards and three total touchdowns.
