49ers’ Arik Armstead To Undergo Knee Surgery, Miss Extensive Offseason Time

Arik Armstead missed extensive time down the stretch for the 49ers, but the veteran defensive lineman was back on the field for each playoff game. Now that the season has ended, the former first-round pick revealed the injury he played through.

The nine-year 49er said Tuesday he suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee during the team’s Dec. 3 win over the Eagles, indicating (via the San Francisco Chronicle’s Mike Silver) he will undergo surgery. This operation is expected to sideline Armstead for most of the team’s offseason program, though NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco adds the veteran hopes to return by training camp. Armstead will join Dre Greenlaw in missing offseason time, though the concern regarding the linebacker will overshadow worries on the Armstead front.

Armstead, 30, has run into a number of injuries over the course of his career. The Oregon alum has missed 31 regular-season games since going off the 2015 draft board 17th overall. That said, Armstead turned his career around following some early-career setbacks. He played every 49ers game from 2018-21, earning a lucrative extension during that span. But the past two seasons have brought injuries back into the equation.

Upper-body injuries cost Armstead time early in his career, though he rallied back in time to have the 49ers pick up his fifth-year option and ultimately extend him on a five-year, $85MM deal. In 2022, however, Armstead battled trouble with this same knee. A sprain during the 49ers’ 2022 training camp cost Armstead time, and while he returned for Week 1 that year, a hairline fibula fracture led to a half-season absence. This season, Armstead battled knee and foot injuries before coming back for the 49ers’ divisional-round game.

Despite these setbacks, Armstead has remained vital to the 49ers’ defensive blueprint. The team opted to pay Armstead over giving DeForest Buckner a more lucrative extension, trading the latter to the Colts in 2020. Both Buckner and Armstead have remained upper-echelon D-linemen, though Armstead’s ex-Oregon teammate is a higher-level performer. Buckner has received three Pro Bowl nods while picking up two All-Pro honors, whereas Armstead profiles as more of a high-end role player on the 49ers’ Nick Bosa-led D-line.

One season remains on Armstead’s deal, and the void years San Francisco added upon restructuring the contract make the 6-foot-7 interior defender more difficult to cut. Armstead is set to carry a $28.4MM 2024 cap number — third-highest on the team — and would cost more than $25MM to release in a non-post-June 1 capacity this year. If the 49ers do not extend Armstead before the start of the 2025 league year, they will be hit with $15.5MM in dead money due to the three void years tacked onto the deal. Armstead recorded one sack in the playoffs and five during the regular season, grading as Pro Football Focus’ No. 16 overall interior D-lineman.

With Armstead available, the 49ers rolled out a formidable defensive line in the playoffs. San Francisco paired he and Bosa with big-ticket free agent signing Javon Hargrave, trade pickups Chase Young and Randy Gregory, and former first-round pick Javon Kinlaw. Young and Kinlaw are on track for free agency, while Gregory’s contract — a bill the Broncos footed almost entirely this season — may need to be adjusted or shed from the team’s payroll. Backup defensive end Clelin Ferrell is also a free agent-to-be; Ferrell and Drake Jackson missed Super Bowl LVIII.

Ferrell also suffered a torn meniscus, per The Athletic’s Matt Barrows. The 49ers placed the free agency pickup on IR in January. Despite the 49ers trading for Young and Gregory, Ferrell started 17 regular-season games opposite Bosa. The former Raiders top-five pick elevated his stock this season, though the knee injury stands to interfere with Ferrell’s attempt to parlay that rebound into a nice contract.

Armstead is the 49ers’ longest-tenured starter, beating out George Kittle by two years. Injuries have nagged him at points, but the veteran remains a productive player for San Francisco. He and Greenlaw, who suffered an Achilles tear while merely trotting onto the field for a defensive possession, will be out of the picture for a while.