Do 49ers fans want Whitner to stay? He’d like to know

San Francisco 49ers’ safety Donte Whitner’s contract is up at the end of this season.  The 2012 Pro Bowler wants to know if fans want him back.

Whitner took to twitter today to pose the question, “Y’all want me here next year?”  The response seems to be overwhelming in the affirmative column.

A 1^st round pick (8^th overall) by the Buffalo Bills in the 2006 draft out of Ohio State, Whitner signed a 3-year, $11.75 million contract with San Francisco prior to the 2011 season.

The subject of his fair share of fines from the NFL – he was hit with a $21K pay slash for a hit during a game against the St. Louis Rams earlier this season – Whitner pondered changing his name to “Hitner”, going so far as applying, and subsequently withdrawing the request in an Ohio court.

Whitner spoke with the San Francisco Chronicle a couple weeks ago about his desire to get a contract done and remain in the 49ers’ secondary.

"“There’s no news on that front,” Whitner said, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. “I want to be here, but like every team they have whatever they’re going to do. They have their (salary) cap, they have guys that they want to be bring back. I don’t know. We have five regular-season games left, so we’ll see where it goes from there. I definitely want to be here. I think we have something special on this defense. Young guy like (rookie) Eric Reid, I like playing with him. I like this secondary and the rest of the guys. I like coming to work. So we’ll see what happens.” [San Francisco Chronicle]"

So, what say you San Francisco?  Do you want Mr. Whitner to stay?