Field Gulls
Another star NFC West receiver is seemingly on his way out.
While Seattle Seahawks fans mull the future of wide receiver DK Metcalf, there are NFC West rivals who are ready to part ways with their respective stars.
You’ve likely already seen the news that the Los Angeles Rams are shopping Cooper Kupp, which isn’t totally surprising given the trade rumors midseason. It appears as if Deebo Samuel’s time with the San Francisco 49ers is similarly up. Samuel requested a trade and the 49ers are willing to move on.
We’ve been here before with Deebo. He asked for a trade back in 2022 while he was still on his rookie contract, only for the 49ers to give him a three-year extension worth over $70 million. He’s entering the final year of his existing deal and is otherwise coming off an underwhelming season in which he averaged only 44 receiving yards per game. Samuel also had several key drops, including a would-be touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams that all but killed the 49ers’ fading playoff hopes (and, for that matter, severely hurt Seattle’s).
At his healthiest and best, Samuel is a dual-threat option as a wide receiver and as an auxiliary running back. He was not effective at either position in 2024 and thus won’t have exceptionally high trade value.
The writing was probably on the wall for Samuel when the 49ers drafted Ricky Pearsall in the first round and ultimately extended Brandon Aiyuk after there were rumblings about him getting dealt. If Aiyuk didn’t tear his ACL in the middle of last season it’s possible that Samuel would’ve been gone at the trade deadline. With a full offseason to assess options, it looks like Deebo’s next chapter will be elsewhere.
