The 49ers are not cutting defensive lineman Arik Armstead. Trade? Maybe. Cut outright? Zero chance.

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell picked a player from each of the 32 NFL teams most likely to be cut or traded following the NFL draft. He picked Armstead as the 49ers’ representative on this list after they used the No. 2 overall pick on defensive end Nick Bosa. Barnwell didn’t specify whether Armstead was a trade or cut candidate.

We can say with complete certainty, barring a complete meltdown from the 49ers’ front office, that they won’t be just letting the fifth-year defensive lineman exit. They may not even want to trade him.

Barnwell put together a thorough breakdown of why Armstead landed on his list:

The 49ers have moved Armstead around the lineup and eventually settled on using him as a rush-stopping defensive end last season, which is a position teams generally fill relatively cheaply. San Francisco reloaded on the edge by trading for Dee Ford and drafting Nick Bosa with the second pick, and both of those guys will start at defensive end as the 49ers begin to show more wide-nine looks from their ends next season. Armstead is set to make $9 million in the fifth-year option of his rookie deal, which is a lot to pay for a guy who would be playing 30 to 40 percent of the defensive snaps in 2019.

It’s true that $9 million is a lot of money to pay for a player in Armstead’s role. However, there’s a pretty high likelihood that Ford isn’t in the 49ers’ base defense. He’s not a tremendous asset against the run, whereas Armstead is excellent in that facet. He graded out at 74.8 overall last season according to Pro Football Focus – the fourth-highest grade on the team for players 25 and under. It stands to reason that he’ll continue to be the ‘big end’ in base packages, then kick inside to rush the passer on passing downs with Ford occupying the end.

Armstead won’t get cut outright because of that $9 million salary. That money is guaranteed for the 2015 first-round pick, and letting him go would mean the 49ers paid him $9 million for nothing.

He’ll be on the roster unless they find a team that wants to trade for him. If San Francisco does want to deal Armstead, it may be tough to find a suitor.  Teams probably aren’t willing to part with what the 49ers would want for him given that he’s due to hit free agency in the offseason. A team wanting to pursue the defensive lineman could wait to see if he hits the market.

Armstead hasn’t offered much as a pass rusher with 9.0 sacks through his first four seasons, but his ability as a run stopper still holds value in an NFL leaning more heavily on the passing game. It may be difficult to find a team that’s willing to shell out draft capital or a player to take on a one-year deal on a defensive lineman who is primarily a run defender.

While he may have fallen short of the expectations set when he was drafted No. 17 overall four years ago, there’s still an important role for Armstead on the 49ers’ defensive line. He’s in the final year of his rookie deal and his $9 million price tag isn’t going to make or break the 49ers’ cap situation for the 2019 season. They surely aren’t going to cut him, and unless something drastic happens in the trade market, it’s hard to envision them even letting him go in a trade.