The good news is that the San Francisco 49ers are in training camp and preparing for the 2010 NFL season.
The bad news is that their designated top player is not.
Training camp is underway and nuts are being cracked in Santa Clara. But nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin, the team's franchise player, is not present and has officially entered holdout territory.
The nose tackle has turned his nose at a one-year, $7 million deal. Franklin is said to prefer a longer-term deal.
Does this mean trouble in Niner-Land? Plenty of football-smart people think not, and Coach Mike Singletary is one of them.
"I don't really have a lot of concern," Singletary said Sunday, in post-practice comments captured in their entirety on Niners Nation. "In terms of being in shape, the one thing that (Franklin) has done is he has really done a tremendous job in the offseason."
Second-year guy Ricky Jean-Francois fills in at the nose while Franklin holds out. Francois normally plays defensive tackle, and has never taken an NFL snap until this year's camp.
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Sounds like Jean-Francois does not mind stepping out of position for the short term.
"I'm the one hitting you," Jean-Francois told the Sacramento Bee, describing the secret joys of playing nose tackle. "So it doesn't really bother me."
Joe Kukura is a freelance writer who would note that Aubrayo Franklin led all NFL nose tackles in interceptions in 2009, with a total of one.
