Maybe Arik Armstead isn't going anywhere. The San Francisco 49ers are working on getting a deal done to retain their defensive end, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.
Latest: #49ers want DL Arik Armstead back and are working on getting a deal done, per source.
— ig: josinaanderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 2, 2020
Armstead, 26, racked up a team-high 10 sacks in 2019 while playing on his fifth-year option. He added another two sacks during the playoffs.
The 49ers made Armstead the No. 17 overall selection in 2015 after playing college football at Oregon. He registered 54 combined tackles, two passes defensed, and two forced fumbles to go along with that sack total through 16 starts in 2019.
Armstead, a Northern California native, has recorded 152 combined tackles, 19 sacks, three passes defensed, and three forced fumbles through his five NFL seasons. While he acknowledged that his future is unclear, he expressed a desire to return to the 49ers.
"I would love being here," Armstead said during the week after the Super Bowl. "Trying to go back to the Super Bowl, so however that is seen or has to get done, it's not really my decision what they want to do with me."
Armstead is eligible, and the most likely candidate, to be franchised tagged by the 49ers should the team not be able to come to an agreement and want to commit that level of money on a one-year deal toward the talented defensive end.