Deebo Samuel asks 49ers for trade, reportedly has ‘issues with how he’s used’
from Zac Wassink, with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com
Coming off the Easter holiday weekend, it was still believed the San Francisco 49ers would ultimately come to terms on a new deal with versatile offensive most valuable player Deebo Samuel, who is in the final year of his rookie contract and is understandably looking for a pay raise after he recorded 1,405 receiving yards, 365 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns during the 2021 regular season.
The situation somewhat changed on Tuesday, though, when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that “Deebo Samuel was the one that basically admitted he wanted to move on” and that the issue between the two sides was “Deebo Samuel not wanting to get a deal done.”
ESPN’s Jeff Darlington then announced Wednesday that he’d been told directly by Samuel that the 26-year-old has asked to be traded by the 49ers.
Samuel offered no specifics about why he’s looking for a fresh start elsewhere, but NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport added:
Money is not at the root of the issues for Deebo Samuel, otherwise that could be fixed with a big offer. But there are also issues with how he’s used. https://t.co/ZX7dKR2yik
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 20, 2022
As Rapoport and others have pointed out, there’s no guarantee San Francisco will trade Samuel before or during the upcoming NFL Draft that begins April 28 and runs through April 30.
In a piece published Tuesday, Christian D’Andrea of USA Today’s For the Win speculated Samuel could eventually sign a five-year, $125 million contract that included $55 million in guaranteed money with the 49ers. It’s unknown if San Francisco would offer him such a lucrative deal or if he’d put pen to paper on any agreement with his current employer following Wednesday’s development, but it was previously suggested he wants to earn “about $25 million per year” via an extension.