During the offseason, the San Francisco 49ers made a couple of notable moves at the tight end position. For starters, they surprisingly signed Luke Farrell to a three-year deal, reportedly worth up to $20.25 million, including $11 million guaranteed.
This decision by the 49ers’ brass caught the fanbase off guard, given San Francisco already has George Kittle. Speaking of Kittle, the star tight end signed a four-year, $76 million contract extension last month.
With Kittle and Farrell locked in for the foreseeable future, it leaves an interesting competition for the TE3 spot. At least four players are competing for that spot, including veteran tight end Ross Dwelley.
Dwelley surprisingly returned to San Francisco on a one-year contract at the beginning of May after spending last year with the Atlanta Falcons. The 30-year-old tight end is well-versed in the 49ers’ offensive system as he spent six years in the Bay Area.
However, Dwelley isn’t guaranteed to make the 53-man roster despite his NFL experience. One has to think that Jake Tonges or Mason Pline has a chance to solidify their spots on the roster with a strong training camp and preseason.
The 25-year-old Tonges played in 16 games last season after earning his way onto the 53-man roster last summer. He didn’t play much on offense, but developed into a core special-teams player, which could help him in his bid this year
As for Pline, he made some noise in OTAs on the second day of minicamp. According to Grant Cohn of San Francisco 49ers on SI, the 25-year-old tight end caught a 20-yard pass from Mac Jones and “seems to be the best receiver” among the backup tight ends.
Pline has yet to play in an NFL regular season game as he spent all of last season on the taxi squad. However, coming out of college, the 6-foot-6 tight end showed that he’s a good blocker and knows how to use his size in the middle of the field and inside the red zone.
If Pline can showcase his pass-catching skills in the preseason, he’ll make it hard for the 49ers to cut him. The 49ers would rather take their chances losing a 30-year-old Dwelley rather than a high-upside athletic tight end with a hoops background.
With all that being said, Dwelley has a battle on his hands. We’ll see if he can hold the young guys off as he tries to show the coaches that they didn’t make a mistake bringing him back.