Jed York Explains Why the 49ers Granted Arik Armstead's Release Request

ORLANDO -- The 49ers' first major move of the offseason was releasing their longest-tenured player, Arik Armstead.

This week at the NFL Annual Meeting, Jed York explained the decision to release Armstead.

Q: Was part of you disappointed that Arik Armstead wasn't willing to take a pay cut to stay here and make another Super Bowl run?

YORK: I wouldn't say he wasn't willing to work with us. He was willing to work with us and we had a good conversation with Arik -- he just asked if he could test what his market value was, and he knew what we offered him and I think he was appreciative that we did it in a way that gave him an opportunity to test the market. For a guy that has played nine years for the club and done amazing things on the field and off the field, it's a lot easier for us to work with him. I don't want to see him go somewhere else, but he was able to see what his value was, and I think we owed him the opportunity to do that, and we gave him that respect. And I think other people see that and say I'm willing to work with you because we have an open and honest relationship with our players. I'd love Arik to be here, and I told him as we were going through this process that he always is going to be a 49er. He's a Northern California guy, when you retire we hope you do it with the 49ers and you're here with us for a long period of time as a great alumni, but I also understand it's a business for everybody, and we want to be as helpful as we can to our players while not hurting ourselves."