The 49ers got hit by news All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel has requested a trade, yet they shouldn’t think about moving him even though he asked.
All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel isn’t happy with the San Francisco 49ers.
That much is clear. And if his previous scrubbing of all things Niners on his social media wasn’t enough of an indication, the latest bombshell of a report saying Samuel had officially requested a trade from San Francisco amid contract disputes and negotiations should be.
Yeah, it’s pretty tough a situation for the 49ers right now.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Samuel’s request wasn’t necessarily about the money, rather stemming from “questions about his usage” as a “wide back” hybrid-type role that saw him net 1,770 all-purpose yards last season (third most in the NFL) but also increased his exposure to risk, injury and further wear and tear:
From NFL Now: For more than a week, the #49ers have been dealing with a major issue in their WRs room, as Deebo Samuel requested a trade. pic.twitter.com/PDuN2TsjHz
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 20, 2022
However, the Niners shouldn’t just automatically give in to Samuel’s trade request.
Here are four reasons why.
Reason No. 4: Deebo Samuel is still under contract with 49ers
San Francisco still holds a lot of leverage here. Remember, he still has one more year to play out on his rookie contract. Sure, the 49ers don’t want to entertain a massive distraction over the course of 2022, and that could happen if both they and Samuel remain at an impasse.
But the facts remain: Samuel is signed through the upcoming season.
In previous years, players could hold out well into a regular season. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, though, there are far stricter penalties (both financially and with regards to contract terms) that could easily serve as a deterrent for Samuel to skip out on training camp, preseason and regular-season games.
In short, doing so would be a terrible business decision for him.
“Show up or forfeit a lot of money” should be the Niners’ response if Samuel’s holdout continues, $40,000 per day of training camp for players still on rookie contracts.
Reason No. 3: 49ers can easily rectify Deebo Samuel usage
If we take Ian Rapoport’s report as gospel and assume Deebo Samuel is less frustrated about San Francisco’s initial extension offer and more upset about the way in which he was used last season, there’s a relatively simple way to fix it.
Don’t use him as a “wide back” any longer.
OK, maybe not entirely reject that kind of usage. But certainly not to the point where he’s getting 59 regular-season rushing touches.
Read More: 49ers playing with fire using Deebo Samuel as a ‘wide back’
As a wide receiver, Samuel will still risk his body to serious injury. That’ll never change. However, if that’s the true reason why Samuel wants out, all head coach Kyle Shanahan has to do is revert him back to playing his natural position.
Something NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco pointed out shortly after Samuel’s trade request broke:
If Deebo Samuel has an issue with how he was used ... 1) He and Kyle Shanahan have a good relationship and can easily work it out to satisfy both sides; 2) His WR/RB role is what makes him unique and more attractive to any team willing to trade for him and pay him big money.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) April 20, 2022
The 49ers merely have to bend to Samuel’s usage request, although it’d probably help if they looked at him as a top wide receiver and (eventually) paid him accordingly.
Reason No. 2: Trey Lance should make Deebo Samuel much better
There’s been enough knocking on quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, so we don’t need to expand too much on how Jimmy G could never truly take advantage of Deebo Samuel’s downfield threat and instead had to rely on his yards-after-the-catch abilities.
Quarterback Trey Lance, however, has a much stronger arm. Remember Lance’s long touchdown pass to Samuel against the Houston Texans last year? Yeah, Garoppolo isn’t making this throw:
Lance, fully poised to start in 2022 with Garoppolo on the outs, needs Samuel to ensure his own development progresses accordingly.
At the same time, and as Samuel even pointed out, Lance could turn into “a superstar” in the not-so-distant future, thereby increasing the wide receiver’s own prowess well beyond whatever Garoppolo could have helped engineer.
Remember, every good wide receiver needs a good quarterback. Better quarterbacks make good wide receivers great ones.
Samuel won’t automatically find that wherever he’s traded, should the Niners accommodate his wishes.
Reason No. 1: 49ers need Deebo Samuel to keep Super Bowl window open
Trey Lance is still a relative unknown. But even if he plays at the same level as Jimmy Garoppolo did last year, San Francisco’s Super Bowl window would remain wide open.
If Deebo Samuel departs, though, that window could easily close.
There’s no one single way to quantify it, but Samuel was arguably responsible alone for three or four of the 49ers’ regular-season wins last season, and they certainly wouldn’t have made it to the NFC Championship game had he been unavailable.
OK, so what if the Niners trade Samuel for a bevy of NFL Draft picks from some inquiring team? Great, right?
Not so fast.
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For starters, draft picks are just that, picks. Not players with a proven track record of high performance, and San Francisco hasn’t always had the best of luck identifying top-level receivers in the draft anyway.
Dante Pettis or Jalen Hurd, anyone?
Simply put, Samuel is a player the 49ers must hold onto at whatever cost, including financial, meaning they shouldn’t even entertain trading him unless they fully accept he won’t come back under any circumstances, is willing to absorb all those fines and whatever return haul is enough for the Niners to assume the risk of trying to find a replacement.