It wasn’t a surprise when we found out the San Francisco 49ers asked Arik Armstead to take a pay cut. The bigger shock was Armstead saying no, which would lead to his potential release.
Armstead isn’t the only player the Niners have approached to take a pay cut. According to Adam Caplan of Pro Football Network, the same was asked of fullback Kyle Juszczyk:
49ers Cap Space Causing Problems for Kyle Juszczyk
The team has approached fullback Kyle Juszczyk, an eight-time Pro Bowl (2016-2023) selection and first-team All-Pro last season, for a salary reduction for the 2024 season, a league source said. Both sides have not reached an agreement on this issue, so his situation remains up in the air going forward.
Juszczyk is on the books for a non-guaranteed $5.75 million base salary for this season along with $400k in per-game roster bonuses.
Juszczyk, who was originally selected in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, signed a four-year, $21 million deal with the 49ers in March of 2017. He then signed a five-year, $27 million extension in March of 2021.
Juszczyk has a difficult job. He’s the player running in motion non-stop before the ball is snapped and rarely gets a target. He does a lot of the dirty work that allows Christian McCaffrey to spring free or Brock Purdy to stay upright in the pocket.
Finding the appropriate valuation for that role is next to impossible. Then, you factor in Juice is 33, but still has two more years on his contract, and you can see why the team approached him about his contract.
While no agreement has been made, as Caplan pointed out, releasing Juszczyk would save the team $4.9 million this season and $6.2 million in 2025. A restructure would save $2.3 million.
A Kyle Shanahan offense isn’t complete without a fullback. Shanahan’s been on record saying that position allows him to dictate what defenses do. We will monitor Juszczyk and what the team decides to do with his contract once more information is available.
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