Just hours after news broke that the San Francisco 49ers plan to release defensive tackle Arik Armstead as a salary-cap savings move, Adam Caplan of Pro Football Network revealed that the team has initiated discussions with long-serving fullback Kyle Juszczyk regarding a potential salary reduction.
"The San Francisco 49ers have approached fullback Kyle Juszczyk, an eight-time Pro Bowl (2016-2023) selection and first-team All-Pro last season, for a salary reduction for the 2024 season, a league source said," Caplan wrote. "Both sides have not reached an agreement on this issue, so his situation remains up in the air going forward."
According to OverTheCap.com, Juszczyk is slated to earn $5.75 million in base salary this year, with a cap hit of $7.6 million. His current contract averages $5.4 million annually, nearly $1.4 million more than the next-highest-paid fullback.
Although widely acknowledged as one of the NFL's premier fullbacks, Juszczyk's on-field performance has consistently declined in the years, according to analytics site Pro Football Focus. He earned a career-best 74.9 overall grade in 2019. Juszczyk's overall grade dropped to 56.0 in 2023, marking his lowest since his rookie season (55.6).
"Kyle is such a good football player, and I think he's better at fullback now than when he got here," head coach Kyle Shanahan said of Juszczyk in January. "And I think when he got here, he was the best fullback in the league. He's changed his body at times. He's always looking to adjust each offseason. As he gets older, he still comes back, ready to go."
The Baltimore Ravens selected Juszczyk (6-2, 235) in the fourth round (No. 130 overall) of the 2013 draft out of Harvard. Last season with the 49ers, he contributed five rushes for six yards and added 14 receptions for 119 yards with two receiving touchdowns across 17 game appearances, 16 of which were starts, as per Pro Football Reference.
Juszczyk, 32, has amassed 211 rushing yards on 62 attempts and five rushing touchdowns while adding 262 receptions for 2,464 yards with 16 receiving touchdowns in 172 game appearances, with 127 starts, over his 11 NFL seasons with the Ravens and 49ers. He was named a first-team All-Pro in 2023.
Juszczyk signed a five-year, $27 million extension in March 2021. The 49ers have an out on his contract this year, making his 2024 salary non-guaranteed.