NFL Trade Rumors
With the regular season officially over, the NFL world has shifted its focus to roster-building season with trades, free agency and the draft. The trade market has gotten off to a fast start, with Browns DE Myles Garrett requesting a trade along with the Rams informing WR Cooper Kupp they plan to move on.
Most recently, the 49ers and WR Deebo Samuel let it be known they’re looking to find a trade partner after six years together. Samuel requested a trade out of San Francisco in exit meetings this offseason following a frustrating season where he put up his lowest output since 2020, with 806 scrimmage yards and four total touchdowns. Meanwhile, the 49ers shopped Samuel in trade talks last year before ultimately keeping him on the team, and it sounds like they wouldn’t mind shedding his salary from their books.
Samuel has been a versatile part of 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan‘s offense over the last four seasons, but the team has been making moves to give itself options at the receiver position. The 49ers extended Brandon Aiyuk last offseason, as well as veteran Jauan Jennings who responded with a career year. First-round rookie Ricky Pearsall emerged late in the season after getting shot at the end of the preseason and having to deal with that along with the usual learning curve for Shanahan receivers.
Samuel has dealt with nagging injuries over the last few seasons and is entering his age-29 season in the final year of his deal. With his frustrations from last year and the unlikelihood that he would be extended, it seems like both sides are ready to move on.
According to Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap, Samuel has a $15.43 million option bonus due on the 10th day of the league year, March 22. Combined with his $1.17 million base salary, $200,000 workout bonus and up to $750,000 in per-game active roster bonuses, Samuel is due a total of $17.55 million in 2025.
Fitzgerald points out the 49ers can decline the option and while it won’t free them from the responsibility of paying it, it would convert the bonus to base salary and give the team more time to shop Samuel around. It would also increase his 2025 cap hit because the option bonus would count all at once and not be spread out over the void years on Samuel’s contract. That’s a little in the weeds but the point is there are two soft deadlines for the 49ers to trade Samuel — March 22 before the option is due and the 2025 NFL Draft at the end of April.
Trading or cutting Samuel before June 1 would accelerate $31.55 million in dead money to the 2025 season for the 49ers, nearly twice what he’s currently on the books for. The benefit is they’d save over $17 million in cash and get a draft pick but that’s a significant amount of dead money to take on and could impact the draft compensation...
