The 49ers turned down a trade offer from the Jets during Round 1 of the draft and kept Deebo Samuel on their roster. Reports going into the draft said San Francisco would need to be blown away by an offer to unload the First-Team All-Pro receiver. New York’s offer according to Matt Barrows of the Athletic was the No. 10 pick and a fifth-round selection for Samuel and the 49ers’ No. 61 selection. Barrows also reported the “Lions offer was also ‘light,'” though there were no specifics.
That offer says a lot about what the Jets think of Samuel and what they were willing to give up knowing they’d have to give him a hefty contract extension.
It’ll be fascinating to see how the rest of this offseason plays out. If the Jets are any indication, teams don’t appear to value Samuel as highly as the 49ers do. That could depress his market and give San Francisco additional leverage outside of what’s already built in by the CBA.
The Eagles traded Nos. 18 and 101 to the Titans for WR AJ Brown, then gave him a four-year deal worth $100 million with $57 million guaranteed. Brown and Samuel share an agent and were both second-round picks in 2019 that’ve had productive three-year careers. It stands to reason the Brown contract is in the ballpark of what Samuel is searching for.
Given what the Jets were offering to acquire him, that contract he’s seeking could wind up coming down closer to something more favorable to the 49ers.
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