The 49ers had two decisions to make about fifth-year options on 2015 first-round picks by May 3 of this year.
They exercised the option on defensive lineman Arik Armstead’s contract, but, as expected, they will not do the same with guard Laken Tomlinson. That doesn’t mean Tomlinson will be out the door after the 2018 season, however.
General Manager John Lynch, who traded a 2019 fifth-round pick to the Lions for Tomlinson last year, said on KNBR that he’d like to work out a deal that keeps Tomlinson with the team.
“Those options are tricky deals ... I actually pulled Laken in here yesterday and had a great talk with him -- we’re gonna work towards making Laken a part of us for the long-term future,” Lynch said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “The numbers are different at each position. Offensive guard was a little skewed because they include all offensive lineman -- tackles get paid a lot so that number was extremely high. But we’ve already been talking with Laken’s guys about trying to make something happen, and we’ll see if that goes into next year.”
Tomlinson started 15 games at left guard for the 49ers last year.