The 49ers have not conceded defensive lineman Arik Armstead will reach the open-negotiating period on Monday without a multi-year contract, a league source told NBC Sports Bay Area on Sunday night.
The source did not categorize how close the sides are to a contract agreement, but Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports the sides are making “significant headway” toward a deal.
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If the 49ers and Armstead’s representation are unable to reach a multi-year contract before Monday at 9 a.m. (PT), the 49ers can place the franchise tag on him at a one-year cost projected to approximately $17.8 million.
The open-negotiating period opens Monday at 9 a.m., just after the deadline for teams to designate their franchise players. If the 49ers resort to the franchise tag, it would almost surely be the non-exclusive tag.
A team could still negotiate with Armstead and sign him to an offer sheet, but the 49ers would have the right to match. If they declined, the 49ers would receive two first-round picks as compensation. The start of the free-agent signing period and the new league year is scheduled for Wednesday, 1 p.m.
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San Francisco 49ers
Another option for the 49ers would to tag Armstead and then attempt to trade him in the same way Kansas City tagged Dee Ford last year and traded him to the 49ers for a second-round draft pick.
Armstead had a breakout season in 2019 with a team-leading 10 sacks in the regular season. He added two more sacks in the post season. Armstead registered nine sacks total in his first four seasons combined.