The 49ers wideout is gaining significant trade interest on the open market.
The San Francisco 49ers seem on the brink of moving on from Deebo Samuel, and teams are beginning to line up with trade interest for the wide receiver.
FOX Sports’s Jordan Schultz reported on Thursday that the Washington Commanders and Houston Texans have had significant interest in trading for Samuel, with talks progressing over the past few days during the week of the NFL Combine.
That news came after general manager John Lynch acknowledged that the team will honor Samuel’s request for a fresh start on Wednesday when speaking with reporters at the Combine.
“We’re on good terms with Deebo,” Lynch said. “I think, you know, he’s asked for a fresh start and I think we’re going to honor that, like seeing great players and he is a great player. He’s, I think often, one of my favorite draft picks in my time.
“He makes plays and he makes game changing plays and you know, everything’s good, but I think at some point, time happens and he asked for that. There’s contracts and things but it probably makes sense. So we’re at least allowing him to look and we’re having conversations. We’ll see where that goes.”
Samuel signed a three-year deal with the 49ers back in 2022 after his All-Pro season, and is scheduled to be on an expiring contract in 2025 with the chance to hit free agency the year after.
Reports had surfaced recently that trade interest had been there for Samuel, and it’s now known that the Texans and Commanders both view the wideout strongly and are interested in pursuing a trade to acquire him.
That makes sense, given that former 49ers staffers now lead both franchises, with DeMeco Ryans serving as the Texans head coach, while Adam Peters is the Commanders general manager.
The Texans are losing Stefon Diggs to free agency, while Tank Dell is likely to miss some time during the regular season after suffering a severe knee injury late in the 2024 season.
Washington, on the other hand, is looking for some consistency at wide receiver behind star Terry McLaurin, which makes Samuel an enticing addition.
However, in addition to the Texans and Commanders, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos have checked in on Samuel, according to Schultz.
Pittsburgh has also been in search of a complement for their star receiver, as they didn’t get much production from the remainder of their group after trading Diontae Johnson in the offseason.
Denver, on the other hand, is looking to figure out its wide receiver situation, which seems to be fluid at the moment.
Nonetheless, there appears to be some serious interest for Samuel on the open market. The question now becomes: will the 49ers actually trade him?
San Francisco would eat a $31 million dead cap hit if they moved off Samuel via trade before June 1st, which is far higher than what his current cap hit ($15.87 million) is.
Is eating that much dead cap in one offseason worth a mid-round selection? That’s a question San Francisco will have to juggle, as the more realistic option still may be a post-June 1st cut, allowing Samuel to choose his next destination on the open market.