Arik Armstead is most likely going to be playing in 2024 in a non-San Francisco 49ers uniform after it's been reported that he will be parting ways with the NFC West division franchise to test the waters of the NFL free agency. The Niners, however, did try to keep Armstead but the two sides ultimately did not see each other eye to eye, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.

“After the 49ers and DL Arik Armstead attempted but failed to work out a restructured contract, San Francisco now plans to release him, per source. Armstead now is expected to become a free agent. The two sides came close to a deal, but Armstead, as @Schultz_Report reported, wanted to see what his market is.”

Armstead, who was taken off the board in the 2015 NFL Draft by the 49ers as the 17th overall selection of that class, put ink on paper for a five-year, $85 million extension contract with San Francisco back in 2020. He was expected to earn $17.41 million in 2024 before he elected to see what's out there for him in free agency.

The 49ers can designate Armstead as a pre-June 1 release which could incur a dead cap of $26.098 million and cap savings of $2.25 million, according to Spotrac. If he gets released as a post-June 1 cut, San Francisco would have dead caps of $10.551 million and $15.547 million in 2024 and 2025, respectively, while having a 2024 cap savings of $17.8 million.

Armstead played 12 games with the 49ers in 2023 in which he had five sacks and 15 solo tackles plus 13 quarterback hits.