49ers surprisingly cut Arik Armstead, and move brings intriguing cap implications
The San Francisco 49ers will release defensive tackle Arik Armstead, according to Bleacher Report’s NFL insider Jordan Schultz. The move is not completely shocking, considering the defensive lineman has missed 13 games over the last two regular seasons, but it’s still a surprising decision. Reasoning According to reporter Matt Maiocco, who covers the 49ers, the […]
The San Francisco 49ers will release defensive tackle Arik Armstead, according to Bleacher Report’s NFL insider Jordan Schultz. The move is not completely shocking, considering the defensive lineman has missed 13 games over the last two regular seasons, but it’s still a surprising decision.
Reasoning
According to reporter Matt Maiocco, who covers the 49ers, the team approached Armstead representation trying to get a paycut from the player. The defensive tackle was slated to make $18.26 million in 2024, the last year of the deal he signed back in 2020. Armstead, however, refused to diminish his salary, which led to his release.
Cap implications
The 49ers have two possible paths moving forward. The first one would be a standard release, which would open only $2.2 million in cap space this year — Armstead leaves behind $26.1 million in dead money, so that’s not a big difference from his previously projected $28.3 million cap hit. The good part about that decision is that the 49ers would not have any future dead money hit, and the cap savings would be immediately available.
However, the most likely path is a release with a post-June 1st designation. That path allows the 49ers to avoid future accelerations before 2025. Therefore, the team would have $10.3 million in dead money this year, clearing up $18 million in cap space in 2024. The bad is that the cap savings would only count starting in June, and there would still be $14.8 million in dead money left for 2025.
Performance
Arik Armstead is coming off his second best season in the NFL by PFF grade (81.9), which included an extremely high pass rush grade (85.1). He finished the season with 42 pressures, the third highest number of his career even though he missed five games because of injury.
The decision to move on from Armstead creates a depth issue for the 49ers, because the only defensive tackles on the roster are Javon Hargrave and Kalia Davis, plus T.Y. McGill, who finished the season on the practice squad and signed a futures deal.
Market
Arik Armstead now joins an intriguing market for defensive tackles. Chris Jones signed a long-term extension with the Kansas City Chiefs, while Justin Madubuike got extended by the Baltimore Ravens after receiving a franchise tag.
Nonetheless, the free agent list includes names like Christian Wilkins, DJ Reader, Leonard Williams, and Calais Campbell.
Even with some other available names, lucrative deals for Jones and Madubuike indicated a strong market for defensive linemen, and that might have elucidated Armstead's decision to refuse a paycut.
Now, the former first-round pick will look for a new team. And the 49ers will need new options to play in the middle of their defensive line.
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