In 2019, the San Francisco 49ers drafted Deebo Samuel in the second round of the NFL Draft. This will be the final year of the rookie contact he was signed to, and earlier this week, it came out that Samuel would not participate in any of the off-season workouts with the 49ers. The workouts are voluntary, but not going was a sure sign that Samuel wants out of San Francisco.
In the 2021 season, Samuel had 1,405 receiving yards, 77 receptions, and six receiving touchdowns with another 365 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns. He proved himself to be one of the most dangerous offensive players in the league last year, and it’s no surprise he wants to be paid this year. With Tyreek Hill getting $30 million a year with the Dolphins and Davante Adams getting $28.5 million with the Raiders, it’s been proven that teams are willing to pay for good receivers – especially when that receiver can also rush for eight touchdowns in a season (an NFL record for a WR). According to Ian Rappaport, though, money is not the issue for Samuel because the 49ers have been attempting to sign him to a long-term contract. Samuel has an issue with the way he is used in the San Francisco system, which points to the question of if he is tired of his combined wide receiver/running back role.
Samuel didn’t give any further information on the reasoning for why he wanted the trade. The 49ers first draft pick of this year is 61st, but with a Deebo trade, they’ll likely jump way up in the order.
