49ers Land $10 Million Replacement for Arik Armstead

Getty The 49ers have a replacement for Arik Armstead.

The San Francisco 49ers look poised to replace defensive end Arik Armstead with free agent Jordan Elliott, who agreed terms with the team as confirmed by his agent on Tuesday.

San Francisco asked Armstead to take a pay cut from his $17.4 million salary for 2024, which he declined. Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz reported that the 49ers plan to release Armstead over the decision.

The 49ers will pay Elliott a two-year, $10 million contract instead. Elliott played four seasons for the Cleveland Browns where he tallied 98 tackles, five sacks, 10 quarterback hits, and four pass deflections in 66 career games and 35 career starts.

Jordan Elliott Turned Around His Career in the Last 2 Seasons

Most of Elliott’s sacks and tackles came during the past two seasons where he started 31 games in that span. Elliott admitted his career got off to a rocky start, but he turned it around.

“I had doubts,” Elliott told the Chronicle-Telegram’s Scott Petrak  in November 2023. “I didn’t even know if I was even cut out for this, for the NFL. Just being real.”

Elliott credited the Browns for giving him a chance that long, Petrak wrote. Elliott had a four-year, $4.5 million rookie contract with the team, and he didn’t start accruing playing time until his third season in 2022 after just four starts in his first two years.

“It wasn’t like it was just given to me. That’s something that I want to just reiterate. But it’s big-time,” Elliott said. “I worked hard to get to where I’m at right now. I’m not done yet. There’s a lot of growth left. So I’m going to just keep on moving forward, trying to get 1 percent better every day.”

Jordan ElliottL ‘I Didn’t Have the Motivation’

Elloitt admitted to Petrak it came down to motivation and infrequent workouts — twice a week. Elliott changed after 2021, starting with a five-day workout routine, Petrak wrote.

“I’ve definitely had self-awareness but I didn’t have the motivation,” Elliott said. “The lack of focus, the lack of attention to detail, just not being a pro.

“I was self-aware but I wasn’t self-aware to the point I wanted to improve. It’s taken me just till now to understand it,” he added.

Cleveland drafted Elliott out of Missouri in the 2020 NFL Draft with a third round selection. He had a standout college career with the Tigers and Texas Longhorns amid 52 tackles, 5.5 sacks, and four pass deflections over three seasons in 26 career games.

Elliott’s journey to college raised some question marks since he committed to Baylor, Michigan, and Houston before the Longhorns. He had a standout prep career at Westside High School where he played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in 2016.

“That was part of that immaturity. That’s not me anymore,” Elliott told the Akron Beacon-Journal about his collegiate indecision in 2020. “When you wake up in the morning you hope you’re not the same person you were the day before. It’s all about growth. That’s just my mindset. That was just a small piece of the puzzle.”