Upon leaving the 49ers, Arik Armstead voiced his displeasure with the way he had been treated after having donated his life and skill for nineteen years.
His time with the team, however, came to an end when he was requested to accept a wage cut because of his purportedly deteriorating physical state and productivity.
Armstead acknowledged feeling extremely disrespected during a recent podcast talk, despite his insistence that he had no ill will against the 49ers organization, including Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch, and the York family.
“A lot has happened this offseason,” said Armstead, the master of the obvious. “I’m no longer with the 49ers. I have a new team. First off, I want to say I don’t have any animosity toward the organization, Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch, the York family. I did feel extremely disrespected. They extended an offer to me for (bleeped out) million dollars after nine years of me being there. The fans deserve to know what happened. I had to make some decisions.”
After playing for the 49ers above average, Armstead was adamantly opposed to the idea of taking a wage cut.
He had steadily shown his value on the field despite his gradual slowdown.
In his 116 games with the 49ers, the NFL star—who was selected 17th overall in the 2015 draft—made a major impact as a defensive tackle, racking up 33.5 sacks, 43 tackles for loss, and 88 quarterback hits.
Armstead expressed delight about rejoining Baalke, the G.M. who was crucial to his NFL debut and is currently a member of the Jaguars’ roster.