A rare occurrence took place on Wednesday for the San Francisco 49ers.
They finalized a contract extension with Deommodore Lenoir. He will be part of the 49ers for the foreseeable future. Extending a player midseason never happens for the 49ers. So, it was definitely odd to see it despite it being a phenomenal move.
“Something we tried to do in the offseason, didn't get it done," said Kyle Shanahan on the 49ers extending Lenoir. "They started working on it here a few weeks ago, and for them to finish it up yesterday, so pumped. Can't say enough about Dmo. He’s exactly what we want as a Niner. His style of play, how good he's become, and really just how much he loves football. He’s the same dude every day. I know we were pumped, the guys were pumped. It was huge.”
The 49ers extending Lenoir now is a wise move. He is already a tremendous player who is closing in on an elite status. That is exactly why the 49ers needed to do it now. Lenoir's value is only going to increase as the season progresses. It wouldn't be surprising if his number increased through nine games this season.
Either way, getting ahead of an extension now was an excellent move by the 49ers. They lock in Lenoir at a cheaper price than it would've cost them after the season given the way he is playing. More importantly, the 49ers didn't have to compete with other teams.
Lenoir was slated to be a free agent this upcoming offseason. That would've increased his value further and made it extremely difficult for the 49ers. Chances are that they wouldn't have been able to bring him back. If they did, it would've been way more expensive. The 49ers aren't in a position to overspend, especially with a looming extension for Brock Purdy.
Luckily, they came correct to Lenoir with a great deal and he didn't want to leave the team. It worked out perfectly for both parties. With the extension finalized, Lenoir becomes the first successful cornerback the 49ers have drafted under Shanahan and John Lynch. It is a position that they have struggled to address in the draft or haven't addressed enough. The 49ers have used free agency as their means to improve the position.
They did it with bargain deals for Richard Sherman and Jason Verrett. Eventually, they finally cashed out on one when they signed Charvarius Ward two years ago. Now, they get to extend one of their own. It has to be a great feeling to have Lenoir pan out and have his arrow pointing upward.
