The 49ers announced on their Twitter page that they have placed the non-exlusive franchise tag on Dashon Goldson.
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"By using the franchise tag on Dashon," GM Trent Baalke said in a statement, "it affords us the opportunity to continue to work on a long-term contract with him, while also ensuring he will be a 49er for a sixth season, in 2012.
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If Goldson receives a contract offer from another club, the 49ers have the opportunity to match the offer. And if they do not, San Francisco will receive two first-round draft picks as compensation.
With the deadline for teams to use the tag coming Monday, the 49ers avoided weekend drama by locking in Goldson.
Tagged, Goldson will count 6.2 million against the 49ers 2012 salary cap on the one-year deal. Cornerback Carlos Rogers was another popular option to receive the tag, but the franchise price for a conerback is around 10.6 million, 4.4 million more than Goldson cost.
Goldson, 27, is coming off one of his best seasons; the five-year veteran ripped a career-high six interceptions and defended a career-high nine passes.