The details on the 49ers’ offer sheet for Lions restricted free agent tight end Brock Wright emerged Saturday via ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Wright’s deal with San Francisco is for three years, and is worth up to $12 million with $6 million guaranteed. Detroit has five days to match the offer after tendering him at the right of first refusal level, which would have paid Wright $2,985,000 this season.
For the Lions, matching will simply be about value. They have more than $26 million in cap space according to Over the Cap, so adding Wright on a contract worth $4 million annually shouldn’t be an issue. It’ll simply be about whether they want to pay a backup TE that kind of money.
It would make sense for the Lions to try and bring him back, even with Sam LaPorta coming off a sensational rookie season. Wright has never been a regular starter in Detroit, but he never played fewer than 44 percent of their offensive snaps in the three seasons he was there.
That’s the same reason the 49ers are willing to pay him after letting TE Charlie Woerner walk in free agency. Wright is a multifaceted contributor in ways the 49ers haven’t really had behind TE George Kittle.
The best case scenario for the 49ers is Wright’s offer sheet isn’t matched by Detroit and they have their veteran TE. The worst case scenario is they match and the Lions have to pay a couple million dollars more for a TE they tried to get back on the cheap.
