SANTA CLARA – Deebo Samuel wants out, again.
Samuel, a 49ers team captain whose production has tailed off since his 2021 All-Pro season, is seeking a trade after his six-year tenure’s most tumultuous and disappointing season.
Getting traded, per his request, seems a more realistic exit plan than three years ago, when a March trade request was merely a step toward a contract extension in training camp (three years, $72 million). The greater mystery now is how much — or how little — the 49ers can fetch in return for Samuel, who didn’t generate enough of a market in 2022 to garner a trade.
The 49ers granted Samuel and his agent permission to seek a trade once this latest request came a month ago, when Samuel, 29, sat with coach Kyle Shanahan following the 49ers’ 6-11, last-place season, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
“It was a hard conversation to have with Kyle because of the relationship that we have,” Samuel told ESPN. “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.”
The 49ers did not immediately issue a statement or confirmation regarding Samuel’s potential split. The NFL Network also reported that the 49ers are “expected to explore” moving Samuel.
General manager John Lynch said last month the 49ers expected Samuel back because “he’s under contract,” at a $15.9 million charge on their salary cap and with a $1.17 million base salary in 2025.
Trading or releasing Samuel before June 1 would cost the 49ers $31.5 million against their 2025 salary cap, or half that figure if they designate a move after that date.
“(Samuel is) a good player and has done a ton for this organization,” Lynch said Jan. 8, “and we’re not in the business of letting good players of here.”
Samuel was disgruntled throughout this past season, complaining on the social media platform X about a perceived lack of opportunities following a Dec. 8 win over the Chicago Bears, their only victory over their final two months of the season. In their previous victory, Nov. 10 at Tampa Bay, Samuel came off the 49ers sideline to confront kicker Jake Moody after his third missed field-goal attempt, and Samuel proceeded to swipe at long snapper Taylor Pepper’s neck.
Samuel, a captain for the second straight season, missed two games this past season, not counting the Oct. 20 loss to Kansas City in which he came out early and required a two-night hospitalization for pneumonia-like symptoms.
Samuel scored just four touchdowns this past season, three receiving and one rushing. He caught 51-of-81 targets (and infamously dropped a potential touchdown pass in a Dec. 12 loss to the Rams) for 670 yards. While moonlighting as a rusher in his “wide-back” role, Samuel averaged a career-low 3.2-yards per carry (42 rushes, 136 yards); he also had a career-high 17 kick returns for a 533 yards.
Samuel, through his ups and downs, is one of the 49ers’ most productive play-makers over the past 25 years. Just last season, he totaled 1,117 scrimmage yards and 12 touchdowns.
His 2021 emergence as a “wide back” netted him his only All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors, while he racked up his only 1,000-yard receiving season (77 catches, 1,405 yards, six touchdowns) and ran for 365 yards and eight scores.
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Earlier this week in New Orleans, Samuel showed up to media interviews wearing a replica Philadelphia Eagles jersey, doing so as a nod to A.J. Brown, his close friend who will be attempting to dethrone the Chiefs in Sunday’s Super Bowl, something Samuel and the 49ers failed to do a year ago and in the 2019 season.
As trade talk swirled around Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk before last year’s draft, the 49ers did not receive a strong enough offer to part with either. Aiyuk eventually signed an extension just before the season, only to sustain a season-ending knee injury against the Chiefs. Going into next season, the 49ers will have Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall as their top receiving options if they part with Samuel — or even if he returns, perhaps.
