Niners Nation
Deebo Samuel’s likely played his last game with the 49ers. That opens up an opportunity for another player. Are they on the roster?
A week ago, wide receiver felt more like a fringe need for the San Francisco 49ers than one requiring extra attention this offseason.
Were there questions with a group that included Brandon Aiyuk coming off a serious knee injury, Deebo Samuel coming off a down year, and Ricky Pearsall coming off a tumultuous rookie season? Absolutely, but with Jauan Jennings included, there’s still enough talent there despite those questions where the 49ers could have looked at 2024 as a standalone down season for an otherwise consistent receiving corps.
On Super Bowl Sunday, however, a report emerged that the 49ers permitted Samuel to seek a trade. With each passing day, it seems more likely that Samuel has played his last snap for San Francisco.
This once-fringe need becomes more urgent, with a divorce likely coming before March 22 — the day the Niners would pay Samuel $15.4 million if he’s still on the team. For the past few seasons, it’s been Aiyuk and Samuel together that have made the 49ers offense work like it has. We saw what happened in 2024 and what it’s like without Aiyuk, but with the 49ers content to move on from Samuel, how will they replace him?
No receiver matches Samuel’s skill set, so looking for a one-for-one replacement would be nearly impossible. Christian McCaffrey is likely the next closest thing in terms of ability in the run and pass games, and the 49ers already roster him, so don’t expect that “wide back” role to go away. A healthy McCaffrey can handle the workload and offer that versatility to Shanahan’s offense, although McCaffrey’s health is certainly a question mark.
How the 49ers will replace Samuel within the receiver depth chart is a much more interesting question, with plenty of options. The first option could be bumping Jennings on the depth chart as the second receiver. Jennings played that role in 2024, replacing the injured Aiyuk, and had by far the most productive season of his career with 975 yards on 77 receptions. Consistency was an issue for Jennings, though.
We all remember his 175-yard performance against the Rams, but Jennings finished 2024 with as many games with less than 40 receiving yards (five) as he did with 70 or more, so while he is a good candidate, it would also make sense to keep him in his current role as the third receiver.
Davante Adams could be the right player to replace Samuel, with the 32-year-old receiver hitting free agency. San Francisco might need somebody good enough to step into the Aiyuk role, with the timeline for his return up in the air.
But when Aiyuk returns – and if he can return to a form we are familiar with – it’d be tough to find a better-receiving duo than Aiyuk and Adams. While it was an interesting season for Adams (to say...
