The San Francisco 49ers flirted with the idea of trading either Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft last week.
Immediately before Round 1 got going, reports indicated that Samuel was more likely to be moved. Despite selecting fellow wide receiver Ricky Pearsall in the first round of the draft, nothing came to fruition on this end.
It sure looks like the defending NFC champs are going to head into the 2024 NFL season absolutely stacked at the wide receiver position. After that? Well, it’s anyone’s best guess.
San Francisco knows it will have to make Brock Purdy the highest-paid player in league history next offseason. It is already up against the salary cap with some of the most-expensive players in the NFL. That leaves Samuel’s future in question.
NFL executive suggests San Francisco 49ers might have to release Deebo Samuel
Speaking with Mike Sando of The Athletic, an unnamed NFL executive noted that the 49ers might have to “trade or release” Samuel after the 2024 season.
It seems absolutely ridiculous on the surface that the 49ers would have to resort to releasing the former All-Pro wide receiver.
Though, there are two major points to be made here.
- Deebo Samuel’s three-year, $71.56 million contract calls for a $16.60 million base for the 2025 season. It is $20.97 million this year. That could be one of the reasons why another team did not pull off a trade for the “offensive weapon.” These are high base salaries in today’s NFL climate. If Samuel is unwilling to work on a new deal with an inquiring team, it complicates trade talks.
- Other teams also know full well the cap situation San Francisco is in right now. Can it really afford to pay Samuel $24.20 million against the cap in 2025? It’s an open question. With Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and Charvarius Ward among the highest-paid NFL players at their respective positions; it gets tricky for general manager John Lynch and Co.
Would the 49ers outright release Samuel after this coming season? It seems highly unlikely. But at the very least, executives from other teams think it’s a possibility.