San Francisco 49ers star receiver Deebo Samuel shocked the NFL world last week when he requested a trade from the organization.
Samuel is on the last year of his contract with the 49ers, and he is reportedly looking for a contract in the range of what Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill received this offseason. The team was in negotiation with Samuel on his new deal, but he appears pretty dead set on being traded if his recent actions are any indication.
Samuel was seen at a nightclub on Saturday in a video that went viral, where he clearly made an indication that he does not want to return to San Francisco.
Considering how big of an impact Samuel had in the 49ers’ offense last season, they likely don’t want to trade Samuel. That being said, Samuel isn’t giving the team much of a choice, and the 49ers ultimately may need to move him if he decides he wants to hold out heading into training camp.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, one NFL general manager believes that the 49ers would ask for two first-round picks in return for Samuel.
“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,” Breer wrote. “And that is a lot, even in comparison to the other big receiver trades of the early parts of this year.”
With the NFL Draft quickly approaching later this week, Breer added that he thinks that it is unlikely that Samuel is traded before the start of the draft on Thursday.
It would be quite the haul for the 49ers if they were able to get two first-round picks in return for Samuel. In comparison, this would be more than the Kansas City Chiefs or Green Bay Packers received for Hill or Adams this offseason.
It will be interesting to monitor going forward this offseason, but trading Samuel before the upcoming draft may be the best chance for the 49ers to get the most value in return for the star receiver.
