Tag: Deebo Samuel trade

Deebo Samuel trade request shifts 49ers offseason needs

The 49ers badly need WR help.

The San Francisco 49ers’ list of offseason needs got a shakeup on Super Bowl Sunday when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported wide receiver Deebo Samuel requested a trade.

Sitting atop the list of needs are the offensive line and defensive line in some order. San Francisco needs to find an upgrade at center, and a starting left guard. They also need starting help and depth at defensive end and defensive tackle.

After that it was murky. They have a slew of things to address at cornerback, safety, linebacker and tight end, but Samuel’s trade request made wide receiver a much more clear need for San Francisco this offseason. It may even land directly behind the trenches if we’re jotting down a list.

Receiver was already a position we’ve discussed as a need for the 49ers, and that was before it came to light they’d likely not have Samuel on their roster in 2025.

If we remove Samuel from the mix, Brandon Aiyuk sits as the clear No. 1 on the WR depth chart. He’s coming back from a major knee injury he suffered in Week 7 of last season. That throws his availability and effectiveness into question for 2025.

Jauan Jennings looks like the clear No. 2 WR on the roster, but he’s only under contract through 2025 and his play last year may have elevated his market beyond where the 49ers might be able to keep him on the roster after his deal is up.

San Francisco did pick Ricky Pearsall in the first round and Jacob Cowing in the fourth round of last year’s draft. Pearsall flashed at the end of last year, but he’s not a sure thing going into his second year. Cowing was a relative non-factor and will be a significant question mark entering 2025.

The 49ers need to at the very least add reliable depth in their receiving corps, and it would behoove them to perhaps draft a receiver earlier than they initially anticipated. Getting young talent into the receivers room allows them to overcome some of the potential obstacles at the position this year while also building out an arsenal for quarterback Brock Purdy.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

 

 

49ers offseason takes rough turn with former All-Pro’s trade request

The Deebo Samuel era is coming to an end.

The San Francisco 49ers offseason hit a snag on the final day of the 2024 season.

Hours before kickoff for Super Bowl LIX, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the 49ers have given wide receiver Deebo Samuel permission to seek a trade as he enters the final year of the three-year contract he signed before the 2022 season.

According to Schefter, the trade request came during player exit meetings for the 2024 season.

“It was a hard conversation to have with (head coach) Kyle (Shanahan) because of the relationship that we have,” Samuel said according to Schefter. “But I have to do what’s best. I’m more than thankful for the Niners giving me the opportunity of a lifetime, but now I think it’s best that we find another team.”

This throws an early wrench in the 49ers offseason, but it’s not a huge shock to hear Samuel and the 49ers are parting ways. He’s entering the final year of his three-year contract and there were already questions about whether San Francisco would keep him around for the 2025 season.

Samuel struggled last year to produce in the ways we’d become accustomed to seeing for the 2021 All-Pro. His overall production dipped, but his tackle breaking and yards-after-catch numbers plummeted. It’s easy to see why the 49ers would be hesitant to give him an extension. He’s due to carry a $15.8 million cap hit in 2025.  It’s equally easy to see why Samuel would want additional security on his contract as well.

Requesting a trade gives Samuel and his representation an opportunity to find a team that will give the versatile wide receiver a new deal that goes beyond the 2025 season.

Samuel has spent his entire six-year career in San Francisco after they took him in the second round of the 2019 draft. In 81 games (73 starts) he posted 334 receptions, 4,792 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns. He also took 202 carries and turned them into 1,143 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

 

PFF names one 49ers star as its top trade candidate

Pro Football Focus named one 49ers star as its top trade candidate entering the 2025 NFL offseason.

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.

How other NFL teams could make the most of Deebo Samuel

Deebo Samuel has requested a trade from the 49ers. Why is this so, and where would be his ideal next NFL home?

Last season, per Sports Info Solutions, the Pittsburgh Steelers involved their receivers in running plays on 26 plays for 186 yards and a touchdown. The Kansas City Chiefs ran their receivers 24 times for 194 yards and a touchdown. The Jacksonville Jaguars ran their receivers on 21 attempts for 173 yards and a touchdown. The New Orleans Saints ran their receivers 21 times for 86 yards. And the Arizona Cardinals ran their receivers 20 times for 111 yards.

There are NFL teams that like to use their receivers in the run game, and then, there is the San Francisco 49ers, who ran their receivers 90 times for 581 yards and nine touchdowns. Of course, Deebo Samuel was the primary instigator in that schematic construct — he had 86 of those runs for 502 yards and all nine rushing touchdowns.

Ever since the 49ers selected Samuel in the second round of the 2019 draft out of South Carolina, he’s been a perfect fit in Kyle Shanahan’s offensive concepts, and while the running aspect of it is a huge deal, there are other ways in which Samuel has made that passing game go. Even with an average quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo and a developmental first-round prospect in second-year man Trey Lance, Samuel has been… well, quarterback-proof, and it makes him one of the NFL’s premier receivers and weapons.

Now, it appears that Shanahan’s primary weapon, outside of tight George Kittle, wants out of Dodge.

Perhaps late-season usage was an issue.

With the trades of Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins and Davante Adams to the Raiders, it’s already been Moving Day multiple times for some of the league’s best receivers. Word is that the 49ers have wanted to extend Samuel’s contract, but there are other issues that have him wanting a new home.

As this news comes less than two weeks before the 2022 NFL draft, it makes the possibility of a haul of picks back to the 49ers a distinct possibility. San Francisco doesn’t have a pick in the draft until the 61st selection in the second round — their 29th pick now belongs to the Chiefs, who got it from the Dolphins in the Tyreek Hill deal, and it originally went to Miami so that San Francisco could trade up for Lance last year. If the 49ers are to deal Samuel, it’s a better time to do it with a stacked receiver class, but it’s also entirely arguable that there’s no receiver in this class who can replicate Samuel’s unique brilliance.

Now, there are two questions to answer if the 49ers-Samuel relationship is part the point of repair, for whatever reasons: Which teams should be most interested in Samuel, and how could Shanahan and his staff look to replace him for the 2022 season and beyond?

Let’s start with what makes Samuel special.

Eagles interested in WR Deebo Samuel after he requests a trade from the 49ers?

Should the Philadelphia Eagles have interest in WR Deebo Samuel after he requests trade from the San Francisco 49ers?

The Eagles have an interest in every talented NFL player, and with the draft just one week away, one of the top wide receivers in football could be available for the right price.

According to Jeff Darlington, All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel has requested a trade out of San Francisco, and Philadelphia is one of the organizations with the draft capital to make a deal work.

Samuel is reportedly unwilling to engage in contract extension talks with San Francisco, and he’s skipping voluntary offseason workouts as he enters the final year of his rookie deal.

The former South Carolina Gamecocks star was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round (36th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft, some 21 spots ahead of J.J. Arcega-Whiteside.

Samuel totaled 1,700 yards from scrimmage in 2021 and is seeking a new deal as players like Stefon Diggs, Davante Adams, and Tyreek Hill have all reset the wide receiver market over the past month.

[listicle id=665783]

[listicle id=665773]

[listicle id=665779]

[lawrence-related id=665795,665760,665757,665720,665717]