By this point, Dashon Goldson must be used to being disappointed by the 49ers.
The veteran safety, who hoped to sign a long-term deal with the team Monday, instead will play this season under the team’s franchise tag, which will pay him $6.2 million.
While the tag price represents a significant raise over the $2 million he earned last season, he had hoped to sign a long-term deal with the team to remain in San Francisco.
Monday at 1 p.m. was the deadline for teams and players who had been given the franchise tag to reach a longer deal. And, while the Chicago Bears came to an agreement with running back Matt Forte and the Baltimore Ravens secured running back Ray Rice Monday, the deadline passed with no agreement between the 49ers and Goldson, who had his finest season in the NFL in 2011 when he was selected to the Pro Bowl and had a career-high six interceptions.
Goldson, who teamed with Donte Whitner to give the 49ers a pair of hard-hitting safeties last season, is still expected to report to training camp in Santa Clara by July 26 in time for the first full-squad practice the next day.
“If I have to play for the tag, I’ll play for the tag,” Goldson told SiriusXM NFL Radio, reported Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group. “But any guy would love long-term security. … If not, I’ll still be a 49er.”
For Goldson, the song and dance with the Niners over a longer-term deal is getting to be a familiar act.
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After the 2010 season, Goldson tested the free-agent market after reportedly turning down a five-year, $25 million deal from the 49ers. When he couldn’t strike a deal elsewhere, however, Goldson returned to San Francisco to play on a one-year deal.
Goldson’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, had convinced Goldson that he’d be able to get a much larger deal in free agency, perhaps similar to the one signed by San Diego Chargers safety Eric Weddle (five season, $40 million).
As a free agent, Goldson had tweeted that, “I won’t mind takin my talents else where to a place where I’m wanted.”
When that didn’t happen, Goldson returned to the 49ers, the team that selected him in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft out of Washington.
Then, after winning a starting spot in training camp, Goldson had a standout season with his six interceptions, 67 tackles and some very big, game-changing hits.
Now he’s been thwarted again in trying to land a long-term deal, perhaps one more in line with Weddle’s or the similar deal given to Antrel Rolle of the Giants.
There are no reports, however, that Goldson intends to hold out or report late to training camp.
Just as he did last year, the veteran safety will sign the deal and try to be the impact player he was last season.
This year, too, Goldson won’t be backed up by the veteran safeties the Niners had in 2011, Reggie Smith and Madieu Williams. Both are gone, leaving C.J. Spillman as the primary backup to Goldson, reports Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. Barrows notes the team also has sixth-round pick Trenton Robinson and undrafted rookie Michael Thomas also in camp as safeties.
As of Tuesday morning, however, one thing is different from Goldson's 2011 situation:
No Twitter messages about his contract.
