REPORT: The 49ers Have Mae It Possible to Trade Deebo Samuel To Steelers
Today could be Samuel’s final day on the team. Let’s see what happens.
Instead of trading Brandon Aiyuk, the 49ers are now expected to trade Deebo Samuel, according to Mike Silver, who says a deal involving Samuel is “likely” because the 49ers have drafted wide receiver Ricky Pearsall. Aiyuk is available for a trade as well, but the 49ers presumably would have wanted a first-round pick in exchange for him and didn’t get it.
Samuel seems to be worth a second-round pick or a third-round pick, or possibly both. Which means he won’t bring the 49ers a big haul. In addition, trading him would free up only $7 million roughly. So a trade wouldn’t benefit the 49ers much next season.
Still, trading Samuel makes more sense than trading Aiyuk, because Aiyuk is 26 and Samuel is 28. And Aiyuk is getting better, while Samuel is not. And opposing defenses will use man-to-man coverage often against the 49ers as long as Brock Purdy is their quarterback, and Samuel can’t beat man to man. He proved that in the playoffs, particularly the Super Bowl.
So Samuel isn’t useful to the 49ers anymore. They don’t need him to play running back because they have Christian McCaffrey. They need him to play wide receiver, get himself open and catch the ball consistently, things he can’t do.
So the 49ers drafted Pearsall, who’s a much better route runner than Samuel and drops fewer passes. Of course, Pearsall can’t compare to Samuel with the ball in his hands after the catch, but perhaps the 49ers offense is evolving away from YAC specialists.
Today could be Samuel’s final day on the team. Let’s see what happens.
Aiyuk and Pearsall were teammates at Arizona State in 2019 and remain friendly, per ESPN. Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed the idea of trading either Samuel or Aiyuk when they said it was unlikely to happen. They didn’t shut the door on a possible deal, but Lynch affirmed contract talks between San Francisco and Aiyuk remain “positive,” per Wagoner.
Things always can change, but it sounds like it might take an enticing offer to try to pry one of Samuel or Aiyuk away from the 49ers.
If it’s the first round of the NFL draft, it’s safe to expect a little drama from the Bay Area. In 2021, it was the Mac Jones vs. Trey Lance debate, with a draft-day rumor of selling the farm for Aaron Rodgers thrown in. In 2022, Jimmy Garoppolo and Deebo Samuel were reportedly on the trade block, though neither was dealt. The 49ers are, almost always, rumored to be trading for or away some player or another.
“Why,” general manager John Lynch said Thursday night after the first round, asked about the rumors swirling around his team, “is it always us?”
