The Facts: Perhaps John Lynch's optimism about getting Kittle's deal done wasn't so rosy after all. NFL Network's Mike Silver reported Friday on Inside Training Camp Live that a gap remains between the All-Pro tight end and the 49ers, noting that Kittle doesn't want to be considered a TE in terms of his contract. "There remains a pretty significant disconnect philosophically between the 49ers and Kittle's camp," Silver said. "The 49ers believe they want to reset the tight end market and give him a great tight end deal, and Kittle is kind of saying, 'I think I'm more than just a tight end.'"

Diehards Line:From Kittle's perspective, you could see why he and his camp think basing his contract off the TE market is preposterous. As NFL.com noted, the No. 7 player on the NFL's "Top 100 Players of 2020" list is far more than a TE. He's the 49ers' top target, a YAC machine, a bulldozing blocker and a team leader, and he generates 1.21 gigawatts of energy for San Francisco. Lynch mentioned earlier this week that, now that the economic proposal between the NFL and NFLPA on how to handle the COVID-19 pandemic has mostly been finalized, he was more hopeful sides could work out a deal. Lynch noted it was a "tricky" contract. That trickiness is in how each side views the market. If the top TE would sit in the 20s of the WR market, it's understandable why Kittle would want to be viewed more in line with the multifaceted player he is than pigeonholed by position. Kittle is set to earn $2.13 million in 2020 if sides can't bridge the gap on a new deal.