Why the 49ers Might Not be Able to Trade Deebo Samuel
The 49ers don't necessarily need Deebo Samuel anymore.
They have an All Pro No. 1 wide receiver in Brandon Aiyuk, an emerging No. 2 receiver in Jauan Jennings, an All Pro tight end in George Kittle, an All Pro fullback in Kyle Juszczyk and the Offensive Player of the Year at running back in Christian McCaffrey.
That's more than enough firepower for any offense.
And Samuel isn't getting better. In fact, he seems to be declining. He's not much of a threat as a running back anymore, and he's not a good enough route runner to beat man-to-man coverage. Which means he's limited, and he will cost the team more than $28 million against the salary cap in 2024.
Ideally, the 49ers would trade Samuel this offseason for an offensive lineman or a draft pick they could use on an offensive lineman. That's what the Chiefs would do, and they're the gold standard in the NFL right now. Remember, they traded Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins because they would rather invest big money into their offensive line than their skill positions. And since then, the Chiefs have won two Super Bowls in a row. They have the right idea.
But the 49ers might not be able to trade Samuel this offseason. Because if they do, they'd have more than $21 million in dead cap space, meaning cap space they couldn't use this year. Which means the 49ers essentially would pay $21 million for Samuel to play for another team. Not ideal.
One way or another, Samuel will cost the 49ers big time this year. If they want to cut their losses now and trade him for a first-round pick, they can, but they can't clear much cap space, because his contract is horrible.
Hopefully the 49ers learned their lesson and won't ever give lots of money to another "wide back."
