Arik Armstead Felt 'Extremely Disrespected' by 49ers' $6M Contract Offer in NFL FA

The San Francisco 49ers released veteran defensive lineman Arik Armstead this offseason after the sides were unable to agree on a restructured contract, and he went on to sign a three-year, $43.5 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

But Armstead said Thursday during his Third and Long podcast (15-minute mark) that the Niners only offered him a one-year, $6 million deal—with incentives up to about $8 million—as part of the proposed restructuring, a figure that he said made him feel "extremely disrespected."

"I don't feel that level of compensation is [anywhere] near the type of player I am," he added. "Not even just the type of player I am, but what I've committed to the game, what I've committed to my team, what I've committed to the organization and my community. I didn't feel like it was representative of who I am as a player or a person."

Part of the calculus for the Niners was that Armstead missed 13 games over the past two seasons, making it hard to justify his $18 million cap hit for the 2024 campaign.

"At his number, we had to adjust it," general manager John Lynch told reporters earlier this week. "Arik bet on himself. And I think he made a good call because his market was there."

The Niners pivoted to a trade with the Houston Texans for defensive tackle Maliek Collins, who had a much more palatable $8.4 million cap hit. The 28-year-old only missed three games in the past two seasons and registered 8.5 sacks in that time, compared to Armstead's five. He's also two years younger.

The Niners could use the savings accrued from that pivot to extend wideout Brandon Aiyuk. Those talks have gotten underway, albeit at the preliminary stages.

"We're trying to talk about some parameters of things," Lynch said. "We're having discussions. That's a good thing. There's no doubt that because we've been aggressive so much, there's some realities that we are going to be faced with moving forward. You just can't have everybody. But Brandon is somebody that we'd love to keep around."

Losing Armstead will nonetheless be felt. The 30-year-old spent all nine of his NFL seasons with the organization, registering 33.5 sacks, 43 tackles for loss and 88 quarterback hits in that time. He wasn't as impactful as players like Nick Bosa or Javon Hargrave, but he nonetheless was a staple of the team's front seven.

San Fran's defensive line has a new look this offseason, with Leonard Floyd joining Collins as additions while players like Armstead, Chase Young (New Orleans Saints), Javon Kinlaw (New York Jets) and Clelin Ferrell (Washington Commanders), among others, all departed.