The San Francisco 49ers opted not to use the franchise tag on defensive end Arik Armstead. The deadline to do so was at 9 a.m. PT on Monday and has passed. The defender is now scheduled to hit free agency on Wednesday and can now negotiate with other teams.
That may not happen, though, according to Pro Football Talk. The news site reports that a deal between Armstead and the 49ers is expected very soon.
New deal is expected very very soon for 49ers and Arik Armstead per source.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 16, 2020
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported over the weekend that the 49ers were "making significant headway" on getting a deal with Armstead done. The defensive end led the team in sacks last season with 10 and added two more during the postseason while playing on his fifth-year option.
Armstead has recorded 152 combined tackles, 19 sacks, three passes defensed, and three forced fumbles through his five NFL seasons.