Based on conflicting reports, It hard to establish whether or not the San Francisco 49ers either did or did not offer holdout guard Alex Boone a new deal. It's probably safe to assume that he has been offered an extension of sorts, but he still has not reported to training camp, and the season opener is quickly approaching. Previous to the rumor of the offer, the 49ers had said they would not negotiate with a player who was holding out.
What should not be doubted is that teams are calling to ask about his trade potential.
Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee says, according to league sources, San Francisco is really not interested in dealing their starting right guard, and if they do, they want a first or second rounder to make a deal, or they would need to be "blown away" to let Boone go.
Currently, Boone has two years left on his deal, and is scheduled to make $2 million this season, which ranks him at 43rd on the list of highest paid guards in the NFL . This does not take into account the fines he has garnered by holding out of training camp.
Currently they are using backup Joe Looney in place of Boone, and according to Coach Jim Harbaugh, they are please with his performance.
"He's doing very well for us," Harbaugh told the Sac Bee. "He came in last year for us and played well. So I think he's someone that we have confidence in and the more time he's on the field, the more confidence we have."
Contrary to what the coach is saying, the niners would like for Boone to stay with the team, and he would like to remain in San Francisco too, according people on both sides of the issue. However, there are other teams that could use his services, and could be willing to pay him more than $2 million this year. It's worth noting that Boone does not count against the 49er's 90 man roster.
It's also worth point out that Boone can play guard and tackle so he is a hot commodity to teams looking to upgrade their line.
Both the Atlanta Falcons and the Miami Dolphins have been rumored as potential destinations for Boone, if San Francisco can make a deal with either of those teams.
The Falcons recently lost Left tackle Sam Baker for the season to a knee injury, and Boone would be an upgrade to an offensive line they have high hopes for this year.
