Arik Armstead says he felt 'extremely disrespected' by 49ers during free agency

Arik Armstead says he felt ‘extremely disrespected’ by 49ers during free agency

Arik Armstead spent his first nine seasons in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers. That tenure came to a close earlier this offseason when the defensive end signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency, and there appears to be a bit of bad blood that spilled which helped lead to his departure.

In a teaser video to his upcoming podcast episode of “Third and Long” where he’s set to indulge a bit more on his free agency, Armstead relayed that while he may not have animosity toward the organization, he did feel “extremely disrespected” by the 49ers during that period.

“A lot has happened this offseason,” Armstead said in the teaser video. “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.”

When adding that he was offered a deal by the 49ers, the teaser video muted the actual terms of the contract that was presented to him.

“The fans deserve to know what happened,” he added. “You know, I had to make some decisions.”

Clearly, Armstead didn’t feel like the offer that was put forward to him by the San Francisco brass didn’t equate to his value both on the field as a player and to his longevity with the organization. Instead, he dove into the open market and found a three-year, $51 million contract from the Jaguars.

The 30-year-old entered the league in 2015 as the No. 17 overall pick in the NFL Draft out of Oregon. In fact, Armstead was drafted by former Niners GM Trent Balke, who now holds the same title in Jacksonville.

In 12 games last regular season, Armstead piled up five sacks and 13 quarterback hits to go along with 27 tackles. In the playoffs, he added 11 tackles, a sack and two quarterback hits.