Were the 49ers Smart to Restructure George Kittle's Contract?

The 49ers just made George Kittle much more affordable for now, and much more difficult to release in the future.

For the second offseason in a row, the 49ers have restructured Kittle's contract, according to ESPN's Field Yates. Kittle's cap hit for 2024 was scheduled to be north of $20 million, and now it will be roughly $9.5 million. So the 49ers just created lots of cap space and made Kittle's price tag much more reasonable.

But next year, Kittle will be extremely expensive once again -- his cap hit will be nearly $20 million. And it will be the final year of his contract. And he will be 31. And if they want to cut him, they'll create only $3 million in cap space.

The 49ers just put themselves in this position with Arik Armstead. Last year, they restructured his contract just before the season started and created almost $12 million in cap space which they never used. Then this offseason, Armstead was extremely expensive and in the final season of his contract, so the 49ers asked him to take a pay cut, he refused and they had no choice but to release him.

Could that scenario play out with Kittle next year?

He's a month older than Armstead, and he's not getting better. In the Super Bowl last month, he had just two catches for four yards -- he never has been a big playoff performer. It's possible the 49ers will decide they can't justify paying more than $19 million for a tight end who's declining and they'll have no choice but to release him and eat the dead cap space.

History often repeats itself.