49ers’ Armstead makes contract plea to Kings for after the Super Bowl — ‘I need a 10-day!’
Arik Armstead is pondering a career switch. Instead of tackling NFL free agency in the offseason where the open market could bring him quite the lucrative contract, the 49ers defensive lineman would rather sign a deal with the Sacramento Kings.
OK, not really. But imagine that.
Armstead imagined it, even for just a jovial moment of fantasy talk. He received a personalized Kings jersey this week and he slipped it onto his 6-foot-7, 295-pound frame Wednesday, and then had fun with it.
A Kings fan since about the time he could walk and dribble, Armstead said on Twitter, after a clap, “I’m ready! Put me in the game, coach! Luke Walton, what’s happening? I need a 10-day!”
A 10-day would be a 10-day contract. Armstead was once a national recruit basketball recruit, so much so that Notre Dame coach Mike Brey walked into a Pleasant Grove High School classroom in Elk Grove to sell his pitch to Armstead on the sport.
He stuck with football, of course, but Armstead still has game in high tops. Or barefoot.
Within the Levi’s Stadium home locker room, there is a regulation-sized basketball hoop under 20-foot ceilings. Armstead is a regular baller there with teammates, known for good hands, good feet and a reliable jumper.
He’s also a dunker, having once torn the rim off a backboard at the small auxiliary gym at Pleasant Grove.
Armstead on Thursday in San Francisco will talk about his high school coaches, specifically Joe Cattolico, his football coach at Pleasant Grove, at the 6th Annual Coaching Corps Game Changer Awards.
This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 2:41 PM with the headline "49ers’ Armstead makes contract plea to Kings for after the Super Bowl — ‘I need a 10-day!’."