The San Francisco 49ers have granted Deebo Samuel Sr. and his agent Tory Dandy permission to find a trade partner, league sources said.
ESPN first reported the news.
The move comes after Samuel asked the 49ers to trade him after the players’ exit meetings this offseason. Samuel is coming off an injury-riddled season, finishing with 806 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns — his lowest totals outside of 2020, when he played just seven games.
Ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, San Francisco looked into trading the 2021 first-team All-Pro.
Throughout the season Samuel voiced his frustrations publicly on social media about his lack of involvement in the offense. In a since-deleted tweet, Samuel said he’s “not struggling at all, just not getting the ball!” in December.
In September, the 49ers restructured Samuel’s contract, making it financially difficult to part ways with him before June 1. If they were to trade or release him before that date, they’d face a $31.55 million dead cap charge. However, if they designate his release after June 1 but before his $23 million option bonus is due on March 23, they could spread the cap hit over two years, reducing it to $10.75 million per year.
A second-round pick by the 49ers in 2019, Samuel has recorded 334 receptions for 4,792 yards and 22 receiving touchdowns, along with 20 rushing scores in his six seasons. San Francisco has invested heavily at receiver, signing Brandon Aiyuk to a four-year, $120 million extension last August, selecting Ricky Pearsall in the first round of last year’s draft and seeing a major uptick in production from 2020 7th-round draft pick Jauan Jennings.
How losing Samuel would impact the 49ers
Samuel fueled the 49ers to the 2021 NFC Championship Game, finishing with a career-high 1,405 receiving yards and 365 rushing yards during the regular season and scoring 14 combined touchdowns. Those numbers, however, have fallen steeply since and last year’s performance was the worst of his career. Most notable were his 3.2 yards-per-carry average — roughly half of his average in 2021 — and he had trouble against man coverage.
Once Aiyuk was knocked out for the season in Week 7, opponents started playing more man coverage and Samuel struggled. While Jennings excelled against that coverage and Pearsall improved against it as the year went on, Samuel ranked 92nd among receivers against press coverage, according to Pro Football Focus, and he caught just 11 passes in press coverage scenarios all season.
Though Samuel complained in that since-deleted social media post during the season that he wasn’t getting enough chances, that’s not exactly true. He finished with 81 targets — third on the team — and eight fewer than he had the season before. — Matt Barrows, 49ers beat writer
Who steps up in Samuel’s place?
If the 49ers end up moving Samuel, they’ll have to consider adding a receiver in the offseason. Though the team has three quality options in Aiyuk, Jennings and Pearsall, don’t forget Aiyuk is coming off an ACL tear that occurred on Oct. 20 and it’s not known when he’ll be back at full strength. Jacob Cowing is the next best option signed for the upcoming season and served as Samuel’s understudy during his rookie season. Cowing was mainly used as a punt returner in 2024 and played only 108 offensive snaps with four catches for 80 yards.
The 49ers likely would have concentrated on the trenches and defense in free agency and the upcoming draft, but now they might have to consider adding a receiver to the mix. — Barrows
