Kyle Juszczyk says his brief free agency helped him realize he wanted to remain a 49er

49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk was a free agent for only a few days before agreeing to a new contract to remain in San Francisco. But he says that brief time helped clarify what he wanted, which was to remain where he's been since 2017.

Juszczyk said on SiriusXM NFL Radio that the 49ers told him that "The financial restrictions we're under are a real thing," which is why they released him rather than pay him the $4.1 million base salary he was due for the 2025 season on his old contract. Juszczyk then talked to some teams to find out what was available to him before deciding to stay in place.

"They put it in my court, whether I wanted to be released or continue to negotiate a pay cut," Juszczyk said. "I think it's good to see what your market is, so they gave me the opportunity to do that. Me and my agent, we went to work and we had some interested teams, we explored those possibilities."

Ultimately, Juszczyk says, San Francisco is where he wanted to be.

"It was too much to leave home," he said. "I wanted to be a Niner and we were able to get to a number I was comfortable with and we made a deal and I couldn't be happier."