Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer has been on top of Deebo Samuel’s story all month. This past Friday, he outlined how Deebo has an issue with his role and how “it’s affecting his football odometer.”
On Monday morning, Breer said it’s unlikely Samuel will get moved between now and Thursday unless the 49ers are presented with an offer they can’t refuse:
I could be wrong, and the reason I’d emphasize that up front is I’m not sure how far someone else is willing to go to get him. I just feel like, at this point, with how carefully the Niners are managing the situation, it’d take a lot for them to move off their spot.
How much would it take? One rival GM said to me Sunday that he believes you’d probably have to go to John Lynch with two first-round picks, which would replace the 2022 and ’23 first-rounders the Niners dealt away last year to move up for Trey Lance, to wriggle Samuel free of San Francisco. And that is a lot, even in comparison to the other big receiver trades of the early parts of this year.
If the 49ers are dead set on replacing the first-rounders they lost in the Lance trade, then it’s reasonable to assume Samuel remains a Niner after this week unless one of these teams with multiple firsts feels the need to overpay so they don’t miss out on the Samuel sweepstakes.
Two first-rounders feel like a stretch, even for the NFL’s elite. Some argued it was too much compensation when the Rams gave that up for Jalen Ramsey. We all agree that was true when Seattle sent multiple first-rounders for Jamal Adams. But all it takes is one team.
Miami moved 29, 50, and Day 3 picks to the Chiefs for Tyreek Hill. The Raiders got Davante Adams for 22 and 53. If John Lynch softens his stance and turns his request into a first and a second, that could be all a team needs to pull the trigger on Deebo.
I disagreed with Breer when he said, “the fact remains that you need a plan, and creativity, to get the most out of him,” speaking about Samuel. That undermines what he did earlier in the year before he had any carries as a running back. Instead, Deebo won as a wide receiver and did so often while still generating big plays.
Because of that, it’s not far-fetched to believe NFL teams think of Deebo in the same light knowing the production you can get out of him from anywhere. But, again, all it takes is one team.
