Goldson: ‘It was a no-brainer'

SANTA CLARA -- After an NFL deadline passed last week, 49ers franchise player Dashon Goldson was unable to negotiate a long-term contract with the club until after the final regular-season game.So, he figured, he had no other option.So on Thursday morning, just prior to the 49ers' first official team meeting of training camp, Goldson sat down in the team's cafeteria and signed his one-year, 6.212 million tender. He was under no obligation to report to camp for the first day until he signed the deal.NEWS: Goldson signs tender
"It was a no-brainer," Goldson said. "I owed it to my teammates. Those guys have been working extremely hard and I missed a little bit of the offseason earlier, and I didn't want to miss another part of training camp."Goldson, coming off his first Pro Bowl appearance, hoped to sign a long-term contract with the 49ers this offseason. When asked if the 49ers ever made a formal offer, Goldson answered, "Not really."Goldson said he expected to sign a new contract that would keep him with the 49ers on a long-term basis."I was a little surprised," Goldson said. "(But) it panned out that way. I saw it leading toward that way. I just accepted it for what it was. There are no hard feelings. It ain't bad money. The most important thing is just being out here and getting the season started.""It comes with the territory. Of course, I wanted something long term. But it ain't all bad. I can go out and play on this (one-year contract) and come back to the table next year."The 49ers will have the option of placing the franchise tag on Goldson again next season with a one-year tender of at least 120-percent of his current salary -- or 7.45 million.