49ers sign WR Marquise Goodwin to 3-year extension
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) The San Francisco 49ers rewarded wide receiver Marquise Goodwin for his career-best season by giving him a three-year contract extension Thursday worth $20.3 million.
Goodwin was one of San Francisco's best free-agent acquisitions last season when he signed a two-year deal, giving the team a needed deep threat down the field. His play led the 49ers to lock him up through the 2021 season with the new deal that will guarantee him $10 million, according to NFL Network.
After putting up little production in his first four seasons in Buffalo, Goodwin is excited for the chance to remain in coach Kyle Shanahan's system with Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback.
''I definitely feel like this offense is good for me in a sense that it allows me to be a football player,'' he said. ''It gives me the opportunity to be out there and make plays and that's what you want in a scheme and a system. It's not just me. Everybody gets to shine. That's what's good about this offense. It's not a one-man wrecking crew. It's not one guy making it happen. It's a lot of guys making opportunities to make plays.''
The 27-year-old Goodwin set career highs last season with 56 catches for 962 yards and scored two touchdowns. The former Olympic long jumper had caught just 49 passes for 780 yards in four seasons with Buffalo.
He also won the team's Len Eshmont Award for inspirational and courageous play and won the team's Ed Block Courage Award given to the player that exemplified a commitment to sportsmanship and courage.
It was a trying season off the field for Goodwin, whose premature son died hours before he caught an 83-yard touchdown pass against the New York Giants on Nov. 12, and whose biological father died days before he had 10 catches for 114 yards against Tennessee on Dec. 17.
''From the minute Marquise joined our team, he has shown us everything we want to see in a 49er,'' general manager John Lynch said. ''He leads by example with a tremendous work ethic, a trait that helped him expand his repertoire as a football player and post his most successful season as a pro last year. Marquise earned this extension by coming in every day focused on doing his job and, as a result, he made himself and his teammates better.''
Goodwin really excelled after Garoppolo took over as quarterback last December. He had 29 catches for 384 yards and one touchdown in five games with Garoppolo as the starter, tying for fifth in the NFL in catches and ranking sixth in yards during those games.
Goodwin was also tracked with the fastest speed by a receiver on any catch last season according to Next Gen Stats through SportRadar, running 21.68 mph on a 55-yard catch from C.J. Beathard against Arizona on Nov. 5.
He narrowly missed out on a 1,000-yard season when he was knocked out of the season finale against the Rams with a concussion after a helmet-to-helmet hit by Blake Countess. Goodwin has had at least four concussions in his career.
''I was not scared at all by any means,'' he said. ''I know the game I play. It's tough, it's physical. Things like that happen at some point. The people in the stands were more scared than I was based on how it looked and me being unconscious for a few seconds. I'm blessed for the opportunity to be healthy and go into 2018 with new opportunities.''
---
More AP NFL: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL
