49ers plan to release Arik Armstead after star declined pay cut

One of the NFL’s better defensive ends will hit the open market.

And the 49ers will lose their longest-tenured player.

San Francisco is set to cut Arik Armstead, according to multiple reports, after the two sides failed to work out a restructured contract.

The 49ers asked Armstead to take a “significant” pay cut, according to NBC Sports Bay Area.

Armstead, 30, was entering the final season of a five-year, $85 million contract he signed ahead of the 2020-21 season and was set to count $28.35 million against the salary cap.

If they cut him immediately, the 49ers would only save about $2.5 million, however.

But if the 49ers designate Armstead as a post-June 1 cut, they’d save about $18.5 million, though they won’t be able to spend that money until he is off the roster.

The 49ers drafted Armstead with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, and he’s spent nine seasons with the team.

A team captain and the 49ers’ Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee last year, Armstead played in just 12 games in the regular season last year due to a torn right meniscus he suffered during a Dec. 3 win over the Eagles, recording five sacks, 27 total tackles, 13 quarterback hits and four tackles for loss.

He returned for the postseason, recording one sack, 11 total tackles, two quarterback hits and one tackle for loss as the 49ers advanced to Super Bowl 2024, where they lost to the Chiefs for the second time in five years.

Just one year prior, Armstead played in only nine games due to injuries in both feet, including plantar fasciitis and a fracture.

Armstead isn’t the only 49ers defensive lineman set to hit free agency, as Chase Young will hit the open market after San Francisco just acquired him in exchange for a third-round pick this past season.