The 49ers don’t need Deebo Samuel anymore.

He used to be their best receiver a few seasons ago, but now Brandon Aiyuk is better than him, Jauan Jennings clearly is better than him and Ricky Pearsall might be better than him, too. With a full offseason, Pearsall likely will surpass Samuel on the 49ers depth chart.

Which means the 49ers might trade Samuel during the upcoming draft. Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay names the Commanders and the Steelers as two teams that could have interest in Samuel.

“Samuel is no stranger to trade rumors,” writes Kay. “He requested a trade before re-upping with San Francisco in 2022, and general manager John Lynch revealed that he received calls for Samuel during the 2024 draft. While Lynch stood pat and retained Samuel at the time, he may be more amenable to parting ways with the wideout this offseason. Samuel’s value may not be as high after he accounted for only 806 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns on 93 touches this year, his lowest career marks outside of his injury-shortened 2020 season. However, he’s still on the right side of 30 and could be rejuvenated with a change of scenery. Teams like the Washington Commanders and Pittsburgh Steelers—two playoff teams with a notable lack of pass-catching depth—might be willing to pay a premium for Samuel. He’d be an ideal addition to any contender’s receiving corps as a big-time playmaker who could help with a Super Bowl push.”

The Commanders are intriguing because their general manager, Adam Peters, was in the 49ers’ front office when Samuel got drafted.

Kay mentioned that teams called the 49ers about trading for Samuel during last year’s draft. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of those teams was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Perhaps they still would be in the market for Samuel considering one of their starting wide receivers, Chris Godwin, could leave in free agency.

It’s also possible that Samuel was so bad last season, his trade market has dried up and the 49ers will have to cut him or keep him.

We’ll find out soon enough.