The 49er’s offseason just hit overload.
According to Jeff Darlington of ESPN, Deebo Samuel has requested to be traded.
Trading Samuel would be the second time in three off-seasons in which the team moved on from one of the best players on the team over a contract dispute.
In 2020 San Francisco traded DeForest Bucker to Indianapolis for the 13th pick in that season’s draft.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network is reporting the trade request came in more than a week ago, and the 49ers have been aware of Samuel’s feelings for a while.
Rapoport went on to say money is not at the root of the issues for Deebo Samuel; otherwise, that could be fixed with a big offer. But there are also issues with how he’s used.
Let’s break those last two sentences down.
Could it be fixed with a big offer?
The wide receiver market has exploded this season, and the 49ers don’t currently have the cap space necessary to give Samuel a signing bonus commensurate with the top five given out this season.
Those signing bonuses consist of $25.5 million for Tyreek Hill, $21.5 million for Stefon Diggs, $20 million for Christian Kirk, $19.5 million for D.J. Moore, and $19.25 million for Davante Adams.
If San Francisco offered Samuel the lowest of those five ($19.25 million) with the minimum base pay for 2022 ($965,000), the 49ers would currently be over the salary cap. And those are low ball amounts for a receiver who was a first-team All-Pro this past season.
Issues with use
There have been reports this offseason regarding the complexity of Samuel’s contract negotiations due to the positions he plays.
After having six rushing attempts through the first half of the season, Samuel saw his rushing attempts jump to 53 over his final eight games.
That type of pace is not conducive to longevity. Samuel knows this, and so do the 49ers. I believe the reports about Samuel’s issues with his usage go back to how San Francisco is trying to leverage his usage out of the backfield to reduce the contract offer.
If true, the trade demand from Samuel is warranted.
Here’s the facts. Samuel was on pace for over 1,766 receiving yards through the first eight games of 2021. It wasn’t until the 49ers began using him in the backfield and cut his targets in half that his numbers began to fall. The numbers followed when the targets came back in week 16 against Tennessee.
Samuel’s versatility is part of what makes him unique, however he was producing at an elite level as a wide receiver.
So, where do the 49ers go from here? The NFL draft starts a week from tomorrow. If they choose to consent to Samuel’s trade request, the move will happen over the next week.
Stay tuned.
Package Deebo and Jimmy to the Panthers. That’s worth McCaffrey and at least 6 picks over the next 2 years.
McCaffrey is broken and isn’t worth trading for. Also, Carolina would only do that trade if we took Darnold back in return for Jimmy. So…. Hell No!
I think this is where Kyle’s cognitive dissonance and ego comes into play.
You have to understand the human side of business, and it was quite clear as a fan how Deebo’s numbers dropped considerably on the WR side while he was sacrificing his body as a RB.
Also, why beat up such a talented receiver by running him into the teeth of the defense over and over again?
Just didn’t make sense. Anyway, hope we get something decent in return.
Dude – He is not even our #1 WR – Please trade him asap
🤔
This has come as a surprise. It’s been fairly clear from the start that Deebo wanted a huge contract and would play hardball but now he’s really pushing it. Part of the surprise is the claim he is unhappy with the way he was used despite having reported a great relationship with Shanahan. I tend to believe this is more about contract negotiations rather than wanting out. Hopefully they can reach an agreement and all will be forgiven.
Almost everything written here and elsewhere is rumor and guessing. Samuel told Darlington he wants to be traded and the 49ers have said over and over they have budgeted for a long term deal for him. That is all we know truly from either side. How we got to this point is open to speculation but it appears there is more to this than money as Darlington said, and I don’t think it was how he was being used because he was loving how he was being used. This could be any of things that have been rumored or it could be something as simple as he’s a kid from the South East who wants to be closer to home. Who knows, but if I were the 49ers I would not trade him unless the offer is along the lines of what the Packers and Chiefs got and even then I might be tempted to call his bluff and see how far he’s willing to go not to play in SF.
As to whether they can resign him with the cap as it is now, they have ways to free up money for a SB. I don’t think that is an issue at all.
Agree. Offseason drama that hopefully won’t amount to much. To me the biggest issue I have is Deebo is missing offseason work with Trey Lance. I wish he was getting in that work to prepare for next season. If things really go south then the 49ers are in a Win Win situation. The 49ers will either have a great football player or they will receive a kings ransom in a trade.
Shades of Charles Haley, ESPN has him going to the Cowboys. Who
can forget how that turned out? Have to wonder if something was
said or done that so irritated Samuel that he wants out, period.
Either way, this is a mess and the continuation of a very disappointing
off-season so far.
There is a rule of thumb in business: when an employee makes a demand and says the or-else is leaving, immediately let that employee go. If not the threatet leaves both parties with a sour taste and impedes future interactions. Here, The Niners should promptly find a good trade deal for Samueles, with numerous high draft choices, trade him and find a wide receiver in the draft. Giving in to Samules’ threats would only end up with unhappiness within the organization and among other players.
Amazing how some act like continuously trading impact players is par the course. It sounds to me they’re trying to pay him RB money, when he’s truly a WR, or something close to that. I don’t get it and I don’t get the 49ers front office. I do get why we can’t win a Super Bowl. Somethings not right within this organization.
The 49ers just have had a lot of good players because of the front office and coaching staff. It’s a good problem to have.
I don’t think they are trying to pay him RB money but are not going to pay him what he wants. His ego has gotten ahead of his common sense. Does he really want to play for the jets at $25 million vs the Niners for $22 million? I’m hopeful that things cool down and they work out a deal.
James- the keys words are “have had”.
Felix- I don’t think ego has anything to do with. I think he knows he took a beating last year. Our RB’s have a history of consistently being injured. That means he’ll have to step in and do it all over again. He wants to get paid before his value declines. The 49ers shouldn’t cash strap themselves to keep him but he’s the MVP because he available more than Kittle and Jimmy G. Availability is more important than skill. No one cares how good you are if you’re always on the sideline.
Deebo missed half the 2020 season did you forget? The most definitely is playing a part in these contract negotiations.
KY49er,
Sounds to you? Why? What have you read or heard that provides any indication that the team doesn’t want to pay him? Their history says exactly the opposite. They made Trent Williams, George Kittle, Fred Warner, Garoppolo and Jus the highest paid at their positions when they re-signed them. The one guy they didn’t re-sign was Buckner because they had to choose between him and Armstead and went with Armstead for a number of reasons. Don’t believe the rhetoric that comes from people throwing out opinions because that is all they are and too often opinions are treated as facts by those looking at things from the outside.
With all due respect to our blog host, I don’t think this is about money, at least not to the degree that it would lead to him asking for a trade. The 49ers have shown a willingness to pay their best players and Deebo would be no expection imo. This seems like what I threw out in the above comment about him being a kid from the South East who lives and trains there in the offseason and has all of his family and interests out there. Money is always an issue and they may be apart on total guarantees, but it’s early in the process and these types of deals usually don’t get done until the summer. This seems like something more personal like where he wants to be.
I never said they were NOT trying to pay him. Let’s start there.
I think the trade possibility depends on the team’s draft board. Do they see any draft prospects as “can’t miss” and worth a trade up? Maybe two number ones for players that would improve the team? The trade value bar has been raised substantially with the Adams, Hill, et al, deals.
Trading Jimmy G for the Carolina QB is a loss for us. Somebody who can lead call Deebo in for a talk with Shanny and discuss what can be done to make things right. Shanny is useless as a psychologist and his interpersonal skills are horrible. Maybe Lynch can help. Kill the wide-back joke. That is over. We are at a turning point. Which way we go sinks this season. Or not.
This is a really ignorant comment. Deebo has a great relationship with Shanahan and said so himself not too long ago.
I still can’t believe the Patriots selected N’Keal Harry over Deebo Samuel. Seems like the one glaring weakness in Belichick’s draft history is the WR position. Brady made so many guys better that it really covered up the weakness of their WR spot.
“IF” the 9ers can’t come to an agreement with Deebo, their best trade option is the NY Jets, as the Jets have both
the salary cap space and draft pick options to satisfy both teams needs.
* The 9ers trade WR Deebo Samuel and DE Samson Ebukam to the Jets and fills 2 of the Jets top 3 needs.
Deebo and Samson are familiar with Jet coaches, Robert Saleh, Mike LaFleur, Tony Oden and Mike Ruttenberg
who left the 9ers for coaching positions with the Jets.
* The trade with the 9ers would leave the Jets with 2022 draft pick #4 and draft pick #35.
* Trading DE Ebukam to the Jets also give the 9ers $6.5 Mil salary cap they can use to sign their draft picks and
eliminates a 9er distraction.
Ebukam has no experience with any of the coaches you listed.