All signs point to the 49ers parting ways with their longest-tenured player.
The 49ers have cut defensive tackle Arik Armstead’s salary after refusing to take a significant pay cut from his projected salary of $17.41 million for the upcoming 2024 NFL season, sources told NBC Sports Bay Area on Sunday night. , officials said. Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz first reported Armstead’s decision to become a free agent.
The expected move is expected to give the 49ers nearly $2.5 million in salary cap space as the free agent signing period begins Wednesday.
Based on previous signing bonuses and contract reductions, Armstead would still be looking at $25.86 million in dead money next season. If the 49ers choose to release him after June 1st, the dead money will be split over the next two years.
If the 49ers absorb this year’s full cap hit, Armstead’s salary will be completely off the team’s books next year. This is important because the 49ers will need to create more cap space next year if the team grants quarterback Brock Purdy a lucrative contract extension.
Armstead, 30, was drafted by the 49ers in the first round of the 2015 draft out of the University of Oregon. He played in 116 games and started 97 during the regular season. He also started all 12 games in the postseason and recorded eight sacks in the playoffs.
Armstead was first designated as a free agent in 2020. After recording a career-best 10 sacks, the 49ers signed him to a five-year, $85 million contract.
He missed 13 games over the past two seasons due to foot and knee problems.
Two days after the 49ers lost in the Super Bowl, Armstead said he would need surgery on his right knee this offseason to repair a torn meniscus. Armstead was injured in Week 13 against the Philadelphia Eagles, but fought his way back into the postseason.
“After the Philadelphia game, he thought his season was over,” Armstead said on Feb. 13. “I tore my meniscus, so I didn’t know if I would be able to come back and put in a lot of effort to get back to the playoffs. I’ve got to take care of it. “The time (of return) should be around (training camp). Let’s see what happens next. That’s what I was dealing with. I’ll miss this run to the world. I’m glad to be able to come back and help my team get to the Super Bowl and win it. Our team was so special that we wouldn’t have wanted to miss it. ”
Armstead played his 53 snaps in the 49ers’ 25-22 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl V. He recorded six tackles and one quarterback sack.
During his time with the 49ers, Armstead made significant contributions off the field.
Armstead has been selected as the 49ers’ nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award each of the past four years.
The Armstead Academic Project, founded in 2019, has donated more than $2 million of his money to youth in Sacramento and the Bay Area.
