The San Francisco 49ers are releasing star defensive lineman Arik Armstead, sources told Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz.
Armstead declined to take a significant pay cut from his scheduled $17.41-million base salary in 2024, a source told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. He’ll now become a free agent.
The two sides came close to negotiating a deal but Armstead wanted to see what his market was in free agency, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The former first-round pick was set to account for a $28.3-million cap hit, according to Over the Cap. The Niners could free up $18 million in cap space but would take on $10.3 million in dead money by designating Armstead as a post-June 1 cut.
San Francisco is currently over the cap by around $200,000. Javon Hargrave is the only starting defensive tackle under contract beyond next season, while Javon Kinlaw, Kevin Givens, and Sebastian Joseph-Day are all pending free agents.
Armstead, 30, was the Niners’ longest-tenured player. He’d played for San Francisco since being drafted in 2015.
The 6-foot-7, 290-pound defensive lineman has racked up 302 tackles, 43 tackles for loss, and 33.5 sacks over nine seasons.
