Niners’ star receiver Deebo Samuel, a linchpin of their offense since 2019, might have played his last down in San Francisco.

Sources say the 49ers are expected to explore trading Samuel this offseason. While it’s not a certainty that Samuel is done in San Francisco, it’s enough of a possibility that both sides appear to be at peace with moving on if it goes that way.

For years, Samuel has been a Pro Bowl-caliber receiver and the spark plug through which the entire 49ers offense runs. When he was on the field, it was electric. When he wasn’t, it was trouble.

Yet this past season, Samuel wasn’t a top target, and he acknowledged in early December that he was “a little frustrated for sure.”

Those comments came days after Samuel wrote in a since-deleted post on the social media site X, formerly Twitter, that he wasn’t struggling — just not getting the ball.

San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Dec. 10 that understood Samuel’s frustrations, but “we’d always love things to stay in-house.”

This past season, Samuel had a career-low 51 catches (not including the injury-riddled 2020 season) with just 670 yards and three touchdowns. He also had a career-low 81 targets (not including 2020).

Meanwhile, the 49ers appeared to plan for his possible departure by selecting Ricky Pearsall in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft and extending Brandon Aiyuk last August. During the course of a roller-coaster offseason for Aiyuk, the 49ers did have some trade talks centered around Samuel, which he discussed publicly during the team’s offseason program.

“They were going back and forth with it, whoever it was,” Samuel said in June. “It was a thing at first. But going to move past it. We’re here, and we’re here to get better.”

Following the season, a disappointing one in which the 49ers endured multiple injuries and finished 6-11, there were plenty of questions about whether Samuel would be with the team, with general manager John Lynch telling reporters in early January that the plan was to bring Samuel back for the 2025 season.

“He’s a good player and has done a ton for this organization,” Lynch said at the time. “We’re not in the business of letting good players out of here.”

Now, however, the 49ers are expected to look into trading Samuel, who is due $17.55 million next year, the final year of the three-year, $71.55 million contract extension he signed in July 2022.

A unique player who can take over a game when he’s at his best, Samuel should have ample suitors — considering how many teams run versions of Shanahan’s offense.