Kittle’s cap hit for 2024 was scheduled to be north of $20 million, and now it will be roughly $9.5 million.

The 49ers just made George Kittle much more affordable for now, and much more difficult to release in the future.

For the second offseason in a row, the 49ers have restructured Kittle’s contract, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. Kittle’s cap hit for 2024 was scheduled to be north of $20 million, and now it will be roughly $9.5 million. So the 49ers just created lots of cap space and made Kittle’s price tag much more reasonable.

But next year, Kittle will be extremely expensive once again — his cap hit will be nearly $20 million. And it will be the final year of his contract. And he will be 31. And if they want to cut him, they’ll create only $3 million in cap space.

The 49ers just put themselves in this position with Arik Armstead. Last year, they restructured his contract just before the season started and created almost $12 million in cap space which they never used. Then this offseason, Armstead was extremely expensive and in the final season of his contract, so the 49ers asked him to take a pay cut, he refused and they had no choice but to release him.

Could that scenario play out with Kittle next year?

He’s a month older than Armstead, and he’s not getting better. In the Super Bowl last month, he had just two catches for four yards — he never has been a big playoff performer. It’s possible the 49ers will decide they can’t justify paying more than $19 million for a tight end who’s declining and they’ll have no choice but to release him and eat the dead cap space.

History often repeats itself.