After failing to win Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs, the San Francisco 49ers plan to lose Arik Armstead. The 30-year-old defensive lineman declined to take a pay cut for the team, so he is projected to hit free agency. The former first-round pick in 2015 from Oregon will likely have plenty of suitors on the market.
San Francisco 49ers Plan to Release Arik Armstead
After the 49ers and DL Arik Armstead attempted but failed to work out a restructured contract, San Francisco now plans to release him, per source. Armstead now is expected to become a free agent. The two sides came close to a deal, but Armstead, as @Schultz_Report reported,…
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2024
This is just 24 hours after the Chiefs re-signed Chris Jones to a long-term deal. The 49ers will likely lose more notable defensive linemen this offseason. Those names include Chase Young, Javon Kinlaw, Randy Gregory, and Clelin Ferrell. Despite a league-wide cap bump, San Francisco has the fifth-fewest cap space in the NFL, according to Spotrac.
Armstead started his career as a defensive end but transitioned into a defensive tackle. The veteran will be rated as a top-five player in either position on the market. At 6’7″ and 290 pounds, players like Leonard Williams and Christian Wilkins are similar to his profile as versatile defensive linemen.
Arik Armstead Career Summary
Armstead’s playoff sack rate ranks second all-time for San Franciso, where he totaled eight sacks. His playoff sack production ranks fourth-best among all players currently in the NFL. The veteran captain had six tackles and a sack in the Super Bowl for the 49ers.
The former 17th overall pick has dealt with many injuries and recently played through a knee injury that required surgery. Armstead suffered a torn meniscus in December but appeared in the postseason (three games) without missing any time.
“I thought my season was over with after the Philly game,” Armstead said on Feb. 13. “I tore my meniscus and didn’t know if I was going to be able to come back and put in a lot of hard work to get back for the playoffs.”
In nine seasons, Armstead started 97 games and totaled 302 combined tackles and 33.5 sacks. His best season was in 2019 when he hit double-digit sacks for the first time with ten. This past year, the veteran was starting in a rotation and played in 12 regular season games, sacking the quarterback five times.
According to the founder of Overthecap, Armstead will likely be a post-June 1st cut, so the dead money hit for the 49ers is not as taxing and will spread into future years. Although he could be a risky signing due to cost, injury potential, and age for a potential playoff team, I think the veteran is worth the gamble.
Arik Armstead had a $28.353 million cap hit for the #49ers. He has $25.86 million in dead money. I think it is possible he could be a June 1 cut to split the dead money.
They will save $18.26M in cash with his release.— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) March 11, 2024
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