The NFL's owners meetings in Orlando are like the Cabo retreat foil to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Everyone seems quite a bit more laid back, Andy Reid is in a Hawaiian shirt, and there are a few nuggets were gleaning.
For the 49ers, a few things of note came out of CEO Jed York and Kyle Shanahan speaking, after John Lynch poured cold water on the Brandon Aiyuk trade rumors.
Jed York expects Purdy to get PAID
While there have been plenty of things to criticize Jed York for in the past in how he handled 49ers business — and is still plenty to be concerned about regarding his local political dealings — the investment in supporting the team in recent years has been abundant.
He expects that to continue at the most important position in the league. York indicated to reporters this week that he expected Purdy to ask for a potentially market-re-setting figure.
“It’s a good problem when you’re quarterback is one of the highest-paid guys on your team and in the league, York said. “It’s what the market is. Brock is going to ask for something that no one has ever asked for before. I don’t know how many players are making over $40 million (annually) as a quarterback right now.”
For the record, there are 12 quarterbacks with an average annual value (AAV) of $40 million or more. There are another four with an AAV of $33.3 million to $37.5 million. Purdy won't be eligible for an extension until next offseason.
York, who recently announced bought out his mother, Denise DeBartolo York, to become the principal owner of the 49ers, pointed to the Garoppolo extension and the necessities of meeting the market for quarterbacks.
“When we signed Jimmy several years ago, it was the largest deal in the history of the NFL, for three minutes,” York said. “But Jimmy was at [$27.5 million]. That’s what the market is and you have to accept the reality of the world.
“To me, the quarterback is the most important position not just in football, but all of sports, and those guys should be paid a lot of money.”
Given how exhaustive and exhausting the 49ers are in their negotiations, it's hard to believe they'd just cut Purdy a blank check, or something in the realm of Burrows, Herberts, Jacksons and Hurts of the world, north of $50 million. But if Purdy has a season like he had last year, there might not be an alternative.
And York seems roughly ready for that commitment, though he might need a refresher on what the market really looks like.
Brandon Staley has a major role, and impacted 49ers free agency
Elsewhere, Kyle Shanahan shed some light on the coaching hierarchy on the 49ers' defense. San Francisco's protracted search after the firing of Steve Wilks, coupled with the low-profile replacement of Nick Sorenson, and high-profile addition of Brandon Staley, left major questions.
Who is really running the defense? How are the 49ers delineating the two roles? Is it a shadow government with Staley at the helm?
To answer that last part, maybe. Shanahan indicated that Staley would have, and has already played, a major role. Sorenson, the internal promotion from the defensive passing game specialist/nickels coach, will call plays.
"Nick is going to call the plays," Shanahan said. "Nick will be a huge part of the game planning and doing everything on that side of the ball, and helping me out in other areas also. Brandon will be a big part of the game plans, implementing a lot of our defense here in the offseason and during each week, preparing for teams."
If you know anything about Shanahan, detailed game-planning is at the core of his approach. He wanted someone he could trust on that aspect, without having to put more time in than usual on defense.
"Brandon has a lot of knowledge being a coordinator in this league and also being a head coach the last few years," Shanahan said. "He knows a lot of the personnel, and he’s been very involved in the draft stuff. It’s always nice to have a guy with his expertise on board to help us out."
It's not just the draft that Staley's had his fingerprints on. The signing of Leonard Floyd, who Staley worked with when he coached for the Rams, sent signals that he was being leaned on for advice.
“He’s been a big part of free agency already,” Shanahan said. “Helped us with the draft and he’ll be a huge asset to the whole coaching staff. Once we start practice and go through OTAs, just have another guy’s expertise, who knows a lot of ball, he’s run a number of schemes.”
Arik Armstead felt 'extremely disrespected'
The 49ers cut Arik Armstead with a post-June-1 designation, saving them a whopping $18 million in cap space this season. They reportedly requested a pay cut from Armstead, who was declined, and subsequently cut.
San Francisco did the same thing with Kyle Juszczyk, who reportedly obliged the pay cut, in favor of a roster cut.
Armstead took to his podcast Thursday to say he has "no animosity" towards the organization, Jed York, or the likes of Kyle Shanahan or John Lynch, but that he felt "extremely disrespected" by the 49ers' offer and decision to cut him.
"I knew that there was either going to be extension talks or restructure, whatever it took to help the team in terms of the cap, because we're trying to make another run at this, the Super Bowl," Armstead said. "So I was fully aware and expecting that and I was trying to have those conversations.
"As the offseason progressed, they did notify me that they did want to extend me, they wanted me to be a Niner for life and remain on the team. But they didn't say what number that would be at... finally they told me that I was going to have to take a significant pay cut...
"They extended an offer to me of $6 million for a one-year deal with incentives to go up to like $8 million. And when they sent that over, I did feel extremely disrespected. I don't feel that that level of compensation is nowhere near the type of player that I am."
It's a situation that was clearly affected by Armstead's lingering issues with plantar fasciitis -- which cost him multiple games the past two seasons -- and a torn meniscus he played through in the playoffs.
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