Niners' Buckner Hoping for a Contract Extension

Star defensive tackle was snubbed in Pro Bowl voting this week but is eager to have his agent work on extending his deal past 2020

DeForest Buckner isn’t making a big deal out of not being selected to the Pro Bowl.

The 49ers’ defensive tackle, who already has a career-best 11 sacks, was selected this week as an alternate to the annual all-star game, but shrugged it off.

“The organization, coaches and everybody knows my ability,” he told Curtis Pashelka and Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group. “The recognition would be cool but it’s out of my hands. They’ve got me as an alternate, so at least they know my name. Now I’ve got to get them to remember it.”

Maybe a bigger deal to Buckner is getting a bigger deal -- as in a contract extension. The former first-round pick from Oregon in 2016, has just one more year on his rookie agreement, with a team option for 2020.

But Buckner, just 24, would like to stay in the Bay Area a lot longer. This week he told reporters he’s eager to get a longer-term deal in place as soon as possible.

“I talked to my agent the past couple of weeks,” he said. “He’s going to come out during the offseason and we’ll talk a little more.”

Certainly, Buckner has shown he can be the foundation of the San Francisco defense as it adds pieces this offseason. His 11 sacks from the interior show he is growing into a force. This has been his best season. He had just nine sacks combined over his first two seasons, and with two games to go it’s likely he’ll set career-best marks for tackles and quarterback hits. His 16 tackles for loss in 2018 also are a career high. He had just 12 combined in 2016 and 2017.

Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan told the San Francisco Chronicle this week that Buckner should continue to improve and a contract extension for him would be worth exploring.

“We’ll look into all of that stuff,” Shanahan said. “I haven’t thought about any of that now, but I know DeFo is someone we want to be a Niner for a long time.”

The 4-10 49ers and Buckner will take on the 10-4 Chicago Bears Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. Oddsmakers have made the Bears 4-point favorites.

Contact Us