Deebo Samuel doesn’t want to be a 49er anymore.
It doesn’t seem to be a money situation but a situation where he has decided for his own reasons that he doesn’t want to be there anymore.
Once you make a trade demand public, that will attract a lot of teams. A team that wants to trade for Deebo will have to have a high draft pick and the money to pay Deebo.
Because he is a bit of a hybrid player, there is some disagreement on how much he should be paid, but there is no question it will be a lot of money.
Pro Football Talk has a breakdown of who has the ammo to make a move for Deebo.
Multiple reports that emerged on Friday indicated that the Jets, Packers, and Lions have shown interest in making the trade. Regardless of the source, the fact that the same trio of teams was leaked to both ESPN and NFL Network strongly suggests that it’s the same person spreading the info. Usually in such situations, it’s coming from the agent. If it comes from the team, it suggests that the team is at least thinking about making the move.
It’s hard to imagine the 49ers trading him to the Packers, for the same reason it was hard to imagine the Packers trading Aaron Rodgers to the 49ers. While not in the same division, they’re rivals whose paths cross in the postseason from time to time — including twice in the past three years.
The Lions make sense because Samuel’s mindset fits the attitude coach Dan Campbell is trying to create within the locker room. If Samuel would willingly choose Detroit (even without no-trade clauses, players seem to have more power in this regard than ever), it would be a huge coup for the Lions.
The Jets continue to make the most sense, given the multiple connections to the San Francisco coaching staff and the fact that the Jets were ready to trade for Tyreek Hill. They need weapons for quarterback Zach Wilson. Samuel would go a long way toward filling that need.
If Deebo will be traded, it will likely be during the NFL Draft.
So, stay tuned for next week because the rumors will start to heat up.
Flip the page for more about Deebo asking for a trade.
