SANTA CLARA, Calif. — One season shy of landing a coveted spot on the wall in the San Francisco 49ers ‘ facility that celebrates those who have played at least 10 years with the team, defensive lineman Arik Armstead is expected to become a free agent.
A source confirmed to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday night that Armstead and the Niners attempted to work out a restructured contract and that, after coming close but failing to reach an agreement, Armstead is expected to be released and become a free agent.
Armstead is coming off a season in which he played in 12 games with 27 tackles and five sacks. Be he also is slated to count $28.53 million against the 2024 salary cap, which is why the Niners were seeking a reworked deal to reduce that number.
While releasing Armstead would save the 49ers around $18.2 million in cash for next year, they would incur a dead money charge of $25.86 million and save only $2.492 million against the cap with an immediate release. The Niners could, however, save more than $18 million against the cap if they add the post June 1 designation, which would spread that remaining dead money over future years.