After losing in the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs, the San Francisco 49ers knew they’d have tough decisions to make this offseason. This is one of the most talented rosters in the NFL, with stars stacked on offense and defense.
The biggest names are safe. Nothing’s happening with Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, or Nick Bosa. But the others? Who knows. Not even Brandon Aiyuk seems to be safe, with the breakout receiver likely looking at a big payday in the form of a contract extension. Obviously, the 49ers are like everyone else; they want to keep all their best players, but the NFL salary cap only allows for so much flexibility.
With the new league year starting on Wednesday, the 49ers had to do something to get below the salary cap, as they currently are roughly $3 million over the spending limit. Well, that was before this move happened.
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San Francisco 49ers suddenly decide to release Arik Armstead
Just hours before free agency’s legal tampering period gets underway at 12 PM ET on Monday, the San Francisco 49ers have decided to cut bait on Arik Armstead, per Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz.
Armstead was set to have a cap hit of $28.3 million, the third-largest cap hit on the roster. As good as Armstead has been in San Francisco, he’s not worth nearly $30 million.
If designated as a post-June 1 cap cut, Armstead’s release will offer up to $18 million in cap savings while leaving behind a dead cap charge of $10.3 million. Prior to his release, Armstead was set to enter the final year of his contract with the 49ers, so the team is just getting ahead of his release a year early.