SANTA CLARA — A year and a half after “the blueprint” departed the 49ers defense, “the audio book” is now out.
Which is the last remnants of 49ers defensive linemen who played on NFC championship teams following the 2019 and 2023 seasons.
Nick Bosa was dubbed “the audio book” because of his monotone voice that borders on deadpan. He’s done for the season with a torn right ACL. “The blueprint” will present a different challenge because Arik Armstead looks as healthy as ever while anchoring the defensive line of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Jaguars (2-1) visit the 49ers (3-0) Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, which is likely the first and last time Armstead will play at what was his home base between 2015 and 2022. Talking to reporters in Jacksonville Wednesday, Armstead shrugged it all off as only he can when asked if there was any emotional significance in facing the 49ers at Levi’s.
“No, not really,” Armstead said. “If you know me, I’m pretty right here in the present the majority of the time, never too high, never too low, and consistently this way.”
True enough. Armstead was revered by the 49ers for being a Solomon-like presence who would quietly take teammates aside and teach them a thing or two about what it means to be a professional rather than get in their face and make a scene.
“I was lucky enough my rookie year to be between Arik and Azeez Al-Shaair and be a fly on the wall for their conversations,” linebacker Curtis Robinson said. “I was an observer from afar, how he conducted himself and how he carried himself.”
Armstead earned the nickname “the blueprint” because no defensive player had a better idea of the way the 49ers wanted to attack along the defensive front than did Armstead. His word was probably second only to defensive line coach Kris Kocurek.
Armstead’s 49ers tenure ended with his release after playing in 21 games over his last two seasons due to injury. After signing a three-year deal with Jacksonville which could pay him as much as $43.5 million, Armstead played in all 17 games last season for the Jaguars, starting only once, primarily as a defensive end.
Under a new coaching staff, Armstead was moved inside to tackle, an in-season move made in 2021 by defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans that along with the shift of Deebo Samuel as a runner/receiver, helped pull the franchise from a 3-5 record and into a wild card berth.
When Armstead arrived as the No. 17 pick in the 2015 first round out of Oregon, he didn’t step into an ideal situation as much as he stepped into fresh bubble gum (or worse) on his shoe. Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers split after a contentious relationship with general manager Trent Baalke, and the 49ers were 5-11 under Jim Tomsula.
As ill-equipped as Tomsula was to be a head coach, things got worse the next season under Chip Kelly as the cupboard was barren of talent and the 49ers went 2-14. That brought in general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan.
Arik Armstead (91) and Nick Bosa (97) celebrate a quarterback sack against the Seattle Seahawks at a playoff game at Levi’s Stadium. Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group
Armstead, at 6-foot-7 and 290 pounds, teamed with former Oregon teammate DeForest Buckner, taken No. 7 in 2016, to give the new regime something to work with as both Shanahan and Lynch are big believers in building a stout defensive line.
As good as they both were — Armstead and Buckner combined for 17 1/12 sacks in a 13-3 season when the 49ers advanced to Super Bowl LIV in Miami — the 49ers believed they couldn’t afford to keep them both. Buckner was traded to Indianapolis for a first-round draft pick and Armstead received a five-year contract extension.
The debate still rages as to whether the 49ers did the right thing, given Buckner’s body of work in Indianapolis and the fact that Javon Kinlaw, drafted with a pick acquired in the Buckner trade, could never conquer a bum knee.
There was no debate as to Armstead’s influence in both the locker room and the community. And Armstead looks as good on the field at present as he did in 2021.
All the while, Armstead, a Sacramento native, threw himself into community involvement to the point where he was the 49ers’ four-time Walter Payton Award nominee (each NFL team has one) and he won the award last season with the Jaguars.
“He’s a great teammate, on the field, off the field, and a hell of a player,” running back Christian McCaffrey said. “His tape speaks for itself, and it has for his entire career. Definitely a force to be reckoned with. Somebody we’ve got to keep an eye on the whole game.”
There isn’t a 49ers defensive lineman who played with Armstead, given the seasonal winds of change in the NFL. But it isn’t too hard to look at the 49ers’ top pick in 2025, defensive end Mykel Williams, and see the Armstead-Buckner prototype in terms of having a dominating big man who can play both inside and outside.
So far in three games this season, he has played 49, 49 and 43 snaps, more than he played in most games with the Jaguars last year and on par with what he did with the 49ers during his best years.
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“I think Arik looks good. He looks fresh,” Shanahan said. “He looks healthy. He’s playing really good right now in all these games, both run and pass, and he’s tough to deal with.”
If Armstead has any bitter feelings about the 49ers, he’s keeping them well hidden. He was uninterested in waxing poetic about his 49ers glory days or detailing the agony of two Super Bowl defeats, instead focusing on the good times with his teammates.
“The best memory is the teammates, the bond you build with and go through the ups and downs with people like I’m doing here,” Armstead said. “That’s what I cherish most, the relationships, those bonds. You forget about the games, you’ll forget about the wins and the losses and the stats.”