The Deebo Samuel experience may be done in San Francisco.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel has requested a trade, and the organization is expected to grant that request, he told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday.
“It was a hard conversation to have with Kyle (Shanahan) because of the relationship that we have,” Samuel said. “But I have to do what’s best. I’m more than thankful for the Niners giving me the opportunity of a lifetime, but now I think it’s best that we find another team.”
— Deebo (@19problemz) February 9, 2025
Samuel requested a trade during the team’s exit meetings, and the 49ers will work with his agent, Tory Dandy, to find the wide receiver a new team for the 2025 season.
That news came after a report earlier on Sunday from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport suggesting that the 49ers are expected to explore trading Samuel this offseason.
“Sources say the 49ers are expected to explore trading Samuel this offseason,” Rapoport wrote. “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.”
The news comes after another down season for Samuel, who caught just 51 passes for 670 yards and three touchdowns, ranking third on the 49ers behind George Kittle and Jauan Jennings.
His 44.7 receiving yards per game were a career-low. At the same time, he also had the worst efficiency of his career as a rusher, going for just 3.2 yards per carry and one touchdown on 42 attempts, far lower than his average of 6.0 yards per carry and 5.3 touchdowns over the past three seasons.
Samuel had shown frustrations with his lack of usage on social media earlier this season after San Francisco’s 38-13 win over the Chicago Bears, writing in a now-deleted post that he wasn’t struggling but rather just wasn’t seeing the ball, which drew public attention.
In addition, the 49ers publicly made the wide receiver available in trade talks last offseason before selecting wide receiver Ricky Pearsall in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, seeming to prepare for a possible departure in 2025.
“They were going back and forth with [trade talks with] whoever it was,” Samuel confirmed in the offseason back in June. “It was a thing at first. But going to move past it. We’re here, and we’re here to get better.”
Now, earlier this offseason, general manager John Lynch shared that Samuel would be back in 2025, as the 49ers didn’t want to let go of valuable players.
“He’s a good player and has done a ton for this organization,” Lynch said at the team’s exit interviews. “We’re not in the business of letting good players out of here.”
But, with Samuel’s request, it seems the wide receiver will play out the final season of his contract elsewhere, where he’ll currently slated to make $17.55 million.
The writing was on the wall. Not only did Ricky Pearsall emerge while Deebo showed signs of decline, but using a first-round pick on a wide receiver in the 2024 NFL Draft was a sign that Samuel wasn’t in the 49ers’ future plans.
San Francisco restructured Samuel’s contract back in September, converting $19.9 million of his 2024 salary into a signing bonus while adding an additional void year to lower his cap hit. That, in return, ballooned his dead cap hit for this season to over $31 million, which the 49ers will have to navigate when figuring out a trade for the receiver.
Per Over the Cap, the 49ers would eat north of $31.5 million in a trade this offseason involving Deebo before June 1. That number dips to $10.75 million with a post-June 1 designation — a move you’d assume the 49ers would do. The good news is they’d save $12 million in 2026. So, in the grand scheme, they’d come out ahead.
Samuel is 28 and should have plenty of suitors. Samuel has a specific skill set that, if maximized, can lead to explosive plays and touchdowns. Injuries have zapped Deebo’s explosiveness.
We will find out how the rest of the league values Samuel. If the 49ers aren’t able to get the compensation they desire in a Samuel trade, they will eat $10.75 million in cap space with a post-June 1 release of Samuel. To save face, I’m sure Deebo would like to avoid that result.