49ers Urged to Ditch WR Deebo Samuel After Super Bowl Loss
The San Francisco 49ers are being urged to reconsider their relationship with veteran wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Samuel has been a standout player for much of his San Francisco career, but now his effectiveness is in question.
Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn took the topic to task on February 16. He explains his take that Samuel is just not the type of player to further elevate the 49ers offense and QB Brock Purdy.
“Brock Purdy doesn’t need a gimmick wide back,” Cohn writes. “Purdy is a legitimately good quarterback unlike [Jimmy] Garoppolo. Purdy throws downfield with anticipation and accuracy unlike Garoppolo. Which means Purdy simply needs wide receivers who run good routes and get open versus man-to-man coverage. That’s not Samuel. That’s Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings. The 49ers need to get more wide receivers like those two. The 49ers don’t need Deebo anymore.”
Essentially, Cohn believes Samuel was better suited in the offense when Garoppolo was still around. Garoppolo’s shortcomings meant that the 49ers needed players like Deebo, but Purdy’s step-up means that’s no longer the case.
It’s an interesting take, especially considering that the 49ers have questions to answer at the wide receiver spot.
49ers WR Outlook Going into 2024
Throughout the season, San Francisco was praised for having a lethal and diverse group of weapons. Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings were just the lead group of receivers, and that alone is an impressive group.
However, Jennings is set to be a free agent and Aiyuk is entering the final year of his contract. But considering the 49ers only have $1.5 million in cap space to work with, handing Aiyuk a huge second deal may be tricky.
Simultaneously, Samuel’s contract is starting to inflate. Deebo will account for a $28.63 million cap hit this year according to Spotrac. While it’s not fully guaranteed, most of it is. A trade could allow them to get out of it, but it’s a large enough contract cost that it would probably create issues in getting a deal done.
