(Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images)
After spending his entire NFL playing career up to this point with the San Francisco 49ers, the team approached Arik Armstead during the early stages of the NFL offseason to see if he would take a considerable pay cut to stay with the team for the 2024 campaign.
Unfortunately, the veteran defensive end and the reigning NFC champions were unable to see eye-to-eye on a restructured deal, which led the 30-year-old to sign with another team in NFL free agency.
Ultimately, Armstead found a new home in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars inking him to a lucrative three-year deal, but despite securing a decent contract, Armstead wasn’t happy with the way things ended with the 49ers.
Despite not getting to leave the team on his terms, Armstead clearly enjoyed his time with the storied NFL franchise and recently talked about playing defense for the 49ers, via Tidal League.
That 49er's Defense was just different…
(Via: Third and Long) pic.twitter.com/Qm2wnB74Nd
— Tidal League (@TidalLeague) March 31, 2024
Although Armstead clearly would’ve liked to have stayed with the 49ers moving forward, especially with the team being a perennial title contender, he has a chance to make some noise with the Jaguars while sharing what he learned during his time in San Francisco with his new teammates in Jacksonville.
Even though the Jaguars are coming off a disappointing season in which they missed the NFL playoffs entirely, Armstead and company can bounce back with a vengeance in 2024 and try to get back on track as a potential playoff team in the AFC while being in the running to win the AFC South division title.
San Francisco 49ers still frustrated about Super Bowl practice conditions that may have contributed to Dre Greenlaw’s injury
While the San Francisco 49ers were preparing for their Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs, Kyle Shanahan’s team was assigned to practice on a nearby UNLV football field. This is the typical process for Super Bowl teams, with the ‘designated home team’, in this case, the Chiefs, being allowed to practice at the local NFL team’s facility (Las Vegas Raiders). The visiting team is assigned to practice at the nearest local college football fields.
For the 49ers, this meant heading to UNLV, where the field conditions were ‘spongy’ and not ideal for making precise cuts as players planted their cleats into the field. However, the 49ers did have the option to bring in new sod for the field or even request that the practices be moved to another location had they wanted to. Yet, at the time, Shanahan said he was “not worried about it at all.”
“I’m not worried about it at all. It is what it is. We’re here. We won’t change anything,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said during Super Bowl Opening Night. “It improves each day. It should. Hopefully it will keep getting better and better.”
Kyle Shanahan on condition of UNLV practice fields
But that was back in February, before the 49ers lost 25-22 to the Chiefs while seeing multiple players suffer serious injuries during the game. The most recognizable was linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who tore his Achilles simply while running out onto the field.
He’s not alone. Defensive backs coach Daniel Bullocks also suffered a torn Achilles while celebrating rookie Ji-Ayir Brown’s interception.
Now, after having months to reflect on what transpired, Coach Shanahan clearly feels much differently about the practice fields the 49ers used to prepare for the Super Bowl. When asked if he had any theories about what contributed to the injuries
“Nothing I want to get into. It’s frustrating,”
San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan
As Shanahan noted, he’s frustrated about the whole situation, and losing in the Super Bowl likely doesn’t help. Yet, as upset as he is, it’s probably best to avoid getting into any controversies regarding what happened in the past. Nothing can be done about it now, but it’s clear Shanahan still hasn’t gotten over it. Who can blame him? However, we also can’t forget the fact that the 49ers had the option to change fields if they wanted to; they just chose not to, for whatever reason.
