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Kyle Juszczyk says taking a pay cut hurt but he did it to stay with the 49ers

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Kyle Juszczyk says taking a pay cut hurt but he did it to stay with the 49ers
Sport

Sport

Kyle Juszczyk says taking a pay cut hurt but he did it to stay with the 49ers

2024-07-31 04:57 Last Updated At:05:01

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Juszczyk took a blow to his psyche early this offseason when San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch came to him following a seventh straight Pro Bowl season and told him he would need to take a pay cut in order to stay with the team.

It took a few days to process but Juszczyk decided it was best to stay in San Francisco on a reworked contract that saved the Niners about $4 million in salary cap room and paid him about $1.8 million less this year.

“At the end of the day, I feel like I have the best opportunity in the world to play here for the Niners,” he said. “I do think that I’m being taken care of in a good way as a fullback on this team. I am happy with my role. My ego took some shots, but at the end of the day, I want to be on a team that all these superstars are getting paid more money because that means they did something great the year before. I feel a part of that.”

The move with Juszczyk was one of several situations this offseason when the business side of football has taken a more prominent role for the 49ers. Defensive tackle Arik Armstead was released in March after declining to take a pay cut and San Francisco is without two of its best offensive players on the practice field so far in training camp.

Star receiver Brandon Aiyuk is conducting a “hold in” this summer and not practicing as he seeks a long-term extension to replace the fifth-year option that would pay him $14.1 million this season. All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams is holding out as he seeks an improved contract.

“I feel like every year there’s kind of been someone in that position,” Juszczyk said about contract talks hovering over the team. “Honestly, I feel kind of well versed in it. It really is something that in the locker room, we don’t take personally and we understand that guys go through that stuff and a lot of guys have gone through it ourselves. I think there’s a good understanding.”

Juszczyk's situation was complicated by the fact that only a handful of teams regularly use a fullback, limiting his options if he were to move on from San Francisco.

The Niners made him the highest-paid fullback in the game in coach Kyle Shanahan's first offseason with the team in 2017 and have prioritized the position.

Juszczyk has caught 262 passes for 1,695 yards and 11 TDs and rushed 55 times for 186 yards and four scores in his seven seasons with San Francisco.

He could have an added role this year as he has been working on kickoff returns as San Francisco seeks the right combination of returners under the new kickoff rules.

With the new play now looking more like a traditional offensive play, the 49ers have experimented on using Juszczyk and Deebo Samuel as tandem returners.

“There’s some real opportunities for big plays,” Juszczyk said. “I think I could help in that. I think Deebo definitely can help in that. I think we could be a good combo back there, because there’s a lot of moving parts. There has to be kind of a natural feel for those returners back there. You just have to be able to play off each other well. I think we do that.”

NOTES: QB Brock Purdy had a strong start to practice but ended it by throwing interceptions on four of his last five passes. ... The Niners had their first scuffle of camp when defensive lineman T.Y. McGill and rookie OL Jarrett Kingston got into a shoving match after a play. ... WR Terique Owens, the son of Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, had his best practice of camp and caught a deep TD pass from Brandon Allen.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk (44) stands on the practice field next to running back Christian McCaffrey, middle, and former running back Frank Gore during NFL football training camp in Santa Clara, Calif., Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk (44) stands on the practice field next to running back Christian McCaffrey, middle, and former running back Frank Gore during NFL football training camp in Santa Clara, Calif., Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk speaks at a news conference during NFL football training camp in Santa Clara, Calif., Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk speaks at a news conference during NFL football training camp in Santa Clara, Calif., Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A female student was killed and another student was wounded Wednesday in a shooting in a Nashville high school cafeteria, police said.

The 17-year-old shooter, who was also a student at Antioch High School, later shot and killed himself with a handgun, Metro Nashville Police spokesperson Don Aaron said during a news conference. Police identified him as Solomon Henderson.

Police Chief John Drake said the shooter “confronted” a 16-year-old female student in the cafeteria and opened fire, killing her. Police identified her as Josselin Corea Escalante. Drake said police are looking into a motive and whether the students who were shot were targeted.

The male student who was wounded suffered a graze, and was treated and released from the hospital, Drake said. Another student was taken to a hospital for treatment of a facial injury that happened during a fall, Aaron said.

There were two school resource officers in the building when the shooting happened around 11 a.m. CDT, Aaron said. They were not in the immediate vicinity of the cafeteria and by the time they got down there the shooting was over and the gunman had killed himself, Aaron said.

The school has about 2,000 students and is located in Antioch, a neighborhood about 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of downtown Nashville.

At a family safety center close to a hospital, officials were helping shocked parents to reunite with their children.

Dajuan Bernard was waiting at a Mapco service station to reunite with his son, a 10th grader, who was being held in the auditorium with other students on Wednesday afternoon. He first heard of the shooting from his son who “was a little startled,” Bernard said. His son was upstairs from the cafeteria but said he heard the gunfire.

“He was OK and let me know that everything was OK,” Bernard said.

“This world is so crazy, it could happen anywhere," he said. "We’ve just got to protect the kids, and raise the kids right to prevent them from even doing this. That’s the hardest part.”

Fonda Abner, whose granddaughter is a student at the school, said Antioch High does not have metal detectors that would alert officials to the presence of a gun. She said her granddaughter had called her a couple of times but that she only heard commotion and thought it was a pocket dial. They spoke briefly before being cut off.

“It’s nerve-wracking waiting out here,” Abner said.

Adrienne Battle, superintendent of Nashville schools, said public schools have implemented a “range of safety measures," including partnerships with police for school resource officers, security cameras with weapon-detection software, shatter-resistant film for glass, and security vestibules that are a barrier between outside visitors and the main entrance.

“Unfortunately, these measures were not enough to stop this tragedy,” Battle said.

She noted that there are questions about whether stationary metal detectors should be considered.

“While past research has shown they have had limitations and unintended consequences, we will continue to explore emerging technologies and strategies to strengthen school safety,” Battle said.

Wednesday’s school shooting comes nearly two years after a shooter opened fire at a separate Nashville private elementary school and killed six people, including three children.

The tragedy prompted a monthslong effort among hundreds of community organizers, families, protesters and many more pleading with lawmakers to consider passing gun control measures in response to the shooting.

However, in a Republican-dominant state, GOP lawmakers refused to do so. With the Republican supermajority intact after November’s election, it’s unlikely attitudes have changed enough to consider any meaningful bills that would address gun control.

Instead, lawmakers have been more open to adding more security to schools — including passing a bill last year that would allow some teachers and staff to carry concealed handguns on public school grounds, and bar parents and other teachers from knowing who was armed.

Antioch has endured other prominent shootings in recent years. A 2017 fatal shooting at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ killed one woman and wounded seven people. And in 2018, a shooter killed four people at a Waffle House.

Associated Press writers Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville and Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, contributed.

Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake talks to media following a shooting at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake talks to media following a shooting at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

School buses arrive at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

School buses arrive at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Students wait to get off a bus at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Students wait to get off a bus at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A students and a family member walk from the Antioch High School after a shooting in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A students and a family member walk from the Antioch High School after a shooting in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

People wait as school buses arrive at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

People wait as school buses arrive at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

School buses arrive at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

School buses arrive at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Families wait as school buses arrive at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Families wait as school buses arrive at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

An ambulance leaves the Antioch High School following a shooting in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

An ambulance leaves the Antioch High School following a shooting in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

An ambulance leaves the Antioch High School following a shooting in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

An ambulance leaves the Antioch High School following a shooting in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Families wait a school buses arrive at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Families wait a school buses arrive at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Dasia Pleitez prays as she waits for her daughter at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Dasia Pleitez prays as she waits for her daughter at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

School bus arrives at a unification site following a shooting at at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

School bus arrives at a unification site following a shooting at at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

School buses arrive at a unification site following a shooting at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

School buses arrive at a unification site following a shooting at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A school bus arrives at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A school bus arrives at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

People wait as school buses arrive at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

People wait as school buses arrive at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

An ambulance leaves the Antioch High School following a shooting in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

An ambulance leaves the Antioch High School following a shooting in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A school bus arrives at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A school bus arrives at a unification site following a shooting at the Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

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