SF 49ers roster: 4 players who could be traded before 2022
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: SF 49ers Defensive Tackle Arik Armstead
There’s an understandable argument the Niners should have prioritized DeForest Buckner instead of re-signing fellow defensive lineman Arik Armstead a year ago for five years at $85 million.
But those are the kinds of deals that rarely see a conclusion with the original team signing them.
Case in point, Armstead is due a reasonable $12.5 million in 2021 with $6.65 million guaranteed. San Francisco is hoping he can revert back to his 10-sack status he enjoyed with a fully healthy defensive line back in 2019, not the 3.5 sacks he had a year ago.
Yet contract safety always gets iffy when there’s no more guaranteed money left on the deal, and that’s the case in 2022 when the guarantees stop. Armstead is still technically under contract through 2024 with a voidable year in 2025, but his total amount potentially due jumps north of $20 million in the final three years of his contract.
The SF 49ers would like nothing more than to be out from under that kind of money.
A post-June 1 trade from that point to the October 2021 deadline would still mean the Niners absorb $5 million per year in dead money through 2024, but they’d also free up more than $15 million each season from 2022 through 2024.
At some point, San Francisco will have to move on from Armstead’s contract. And if it’s done by the way of a trade, it could happen within the year.