Pro Football Focus tabbed San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel among its trade candidates for the 2025 NFL offseason.
After the way the 2024 season played out and given the 49ers’ situation at wide receiver, moving on from Samuel might make the most sense.
By his standards, Samuel is coming off a disappointing 2024 campaign. In 15 games, Samuel caught 51 passes for 670 yards with three touchdowns and he carried 42 times for 136 yards and one score.
Samuel’s 51 grabs were his fewest since the 2020 season when he played in just seven games and his 3.2 yards per carry average was the lowest of any season in his career.
In its breakdown of why Samuel could be a logical trade candidate for San Francisco, PFF pointed to the fact that the 49ers’ list of free agents for 2025 and 2026 includes Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Javon Hargrave, Dre Greenlaw, Jauan Jennings, Kyle Juszczyk, Charvarius Ward and Samuel.
That’s a long list of names for general manager John Lynch to weigh the value of. Somebody likely has to be the odd man out.
PFF feels Samuel is an obvious odd man out.
San Francisco drafted Ricky Pearsall in the first round last year and invested $120 million in Brandon Aiyuk, while Jennings (career-high 83.7 PFF receiving grade) has flourished in a more full-fledged role. Meanwhile, Samuel hasn’t enjoyed the success we’re accustomed to seeing, netting a career-low 70.9 PFF overall grade with a career-low 1.60 yards per route run and 8.2 yards after the catch per reception.
Instead of paying Samuel another significant deal, it feels inevitable that the 49ers will sell high after a poor season and recoup their assets, bracing for what could be an offseason of retooling.
As Lynch and the 49ers aim to reconfigure themselves for a run back to contention in 2025, there are some difficult offseason decisions to be made.
The investment in Aiyuk is a hefty chunk over the next four seasons and could inform the franchise’s other decisions at wide receiver. Aiyuk tore his ACL and MCL earlier this season versus the Kansas City Chiefs and will be working his way back from the injury.
The Arizona State alum caught 25 passes for 374 yards this past season and is now up to 294 receptions, 4,305 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns in his 49er career.
Pearsall’s emergence throughout the season and in particular in San Francisco’s final two games against Detroit and Arizona was an encouraging sign for the 49ers’ wide receiver makeup moving forward.
The rookie from Florida caught 31 passes for 400 yards and three scores, including 14 receptions for 210 yards and a pair of touchdowns in San Francisco’s final two games.
Samuel is entering the final year of his contract where he carries a $15.8 million cap hit for the 2025 season.