With 49ers training camp set to open next week, Mike McGlinchey remains unsigned.
San Francisco’s No. 1 draft pick – and the presumed starter at right tackle – has taken part in team activities this spring and has impressed teammates and coaches. But the fact he has yet to sign a contract remains a point of worry for some 49ers fans who are eager to see this team have a great summer camp and get off to a strong start in 2018.
But is it a problem? Probably not.
As Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group noted Friday, there have been no indications McGlinchey or second-round pick wide receiver/kick returner Dante Pettis (also unsigned) plan to hold out. Each has participated in team workouts and June’s full-squad minicamp.
Wrote Inman: “It’s not reason for panic yet. The 49ers have their other draft picks under contract and figure to lock in their top choices in the coming week. McGlinchey is represented by the same agency … as the 49ers’ top 2017 pick, Solomon Thomas, who didn’t sign until the first practice of camp. McGlinchey didn’t express concern of his contract when asked about it last month.”
The fact McGlinchey and Pettis are not yet signed is not that unusual – even at this late date. The first four picks of the NFL draft in April have not yet signed, including ex-Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, who is expected to be the New York Giants No. 1 running back.
In this era when draft picks are paid at a value mostly predetermined for their slot, there isn’t that much room for teams and players to be that far apart. As Ryan Dunleavy, who covers the NFL for the NJ.com news group in New Jersey, wrote this week, McGlinchey is expected to get a contract in the neighborhood of $18.5 million, with a signing bonus of about $11.5 million.
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Often, the signing of players such as McGlinchey and Pettis comes down to wording in the contract about “offset” language that allows teams to get back some money if a high draft pick is released before the contract expires, but is signed by another team.
Certainly, the last thing the 49ers want – or McGlinchey or Pettis, for that matter – is for contract disputes that would keep a pair of players who could be high-impact additions on the sideline during the early days of training camp.
