Instead of letting their 2019 sack leader test free agency, the San Francisco 49ers elected to re-sign defensive end Arik Armstead to a lucrative five-year deal on Monday.
The move didn’t come without some immediate setback, however, as the Niners were inevitably forced to trade 2018 Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts shortly thereafter — an exchange which both netted San Francisco an additional first-round NFL Draft choice and freed up more than $12 million in cap space for this upcoming year.
Keeping both Armstead and Buckner around for another season was going to be a tall order.