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49ers Beat Writer Expects 49ers to Release Deebo Samuel, not Trade him

Who would trade for a 29-year-old wide receiver who needs to lose at least 20 pounds?

Grant Cohn

Dec 30, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. (1) during the game against the Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images
Dec 30, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. (1) during the game against the Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images
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Deebo Samuel recently asked the 49ers for permission to seek a trade, but it's possible what he really wants is a release.

Samuel has one more year on his contract -- he most likely wants an extension. Any team that trades for him would have to know that. And he can refuse to sign an extension with any team he doesn't want to play for, which means he would be a one-year rental. I'm guessing no team wants to trade a draft pick for one year of a disgruntled Deebo.

That's why Matt Barrows of The Athletic expects the 49ers to release Samuel, not trade him.

"There could be a team out there that wants to get ahead of a second team to get him, but Deebo Samuel's agent is going to tell that team 'No, he doesn't want to play there,' in which case it's over," Barrows said on his podcast. "So, I think that releasing him and allowing him to kind of choose his next home is probably the way this is going to go."

Samuel recently showed up to the Super Bowl wearing a Kelly green A.J. Brown Eagles jersey, so maybe he wants to join the Super Bowl champs. He also showed up looking noticeably overweight. According to the SF Standard's Tim Kawakami, Samuel was as much as 20 pounds overweight at times during the season.

Who would trade for a 29-year-old wide receiver who needs to lose at least 20 pounds?

I'm guessing Samuel will get released and then sign a one-year prove-it deal with a contender before entering free agency again in 2026.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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