49ers' Arik Armstead to Have Surgery on Knee Injury; DE Played with Torn Meniscus

San Francisco 49ers defensive end Arik Armstead is finally set to address a painful injury he's played through for over a month.

According to Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle, Armstead will undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus he suffered on Dec. 3 and he will miss most of the 49ers' offseason program.

Armstead missed San Francisco's final five games of the regular season, but he returned to play in all three of the team's playoff games. During Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs, Armstead finished with six total tackles and recorded a sack on Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

In his 12 appearances this season, Armstead finished with 27 total tackles and five sacks. This was the second straight year that he's been forced to miss time, as a hairline fracture in his left ankle limited him to nine games in 2022. Prior to the last couple of years, Armstead was a model of durability, appearing in at least 16 games in four straight seasons.

The 30-year-old is heading into the final year of his five-year, $85 million contract with the 49ers, and he will count for a $28.3 million cap hit in 2024, per Spotrac. He has spent his entire nine-year career in San Francisco after the team drafted him 17th overall in 2015.

Armstead and the 49ers are hoping to bounce back from the disappointment of Sunday's overtime loss to the Chiefs. It was San Francisco's second Super Bowl loss in the last five years, both coming against Kansas City.

A healthy Armstead should help the 49ers have a strong chance of making another run to the Super Bowl next season.