NFL rumors: Patriots ‘sniffing around’ Deebo Samuel, 49ers won’t trade him

One of the latest NFL rumors out there has the Patriots interested in Deebo Samuel, but there’s a big reason why the 49ers won’t budge on a trade.

Last offseason, All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel and the San Francisco 49ers successfully navigated a challenging staredown that included a trade request from the top offensive weapon amid some awkward contractual standoffs.

Samuel got paid, head coach Kyle Shanahan still has his “wide back” and all parties were happy.

However, according to a new report floating around there among all those NFL rumors, Samuel is again part of trade talk.

Not necessarily from the Niners’ vantage point, though.

NFL rumors say Patriots are ‘sniffing around’ Deebo Samuel via a trade

During an episode of the Felger & Mazz Show, which appears on Boston’s WBZ-FM radio, producer James Stewart shared an interesting tidbit that involved Samuel and potential interest from the New England Patriots:

"Deebo Samuel. I heard the Patriots, I got a text message from an NFL talent evaluator that the Patriots are sniffing around Deebo Samuel."

Interesting.

From the Pats’ perspective, it makes sense. New England wholly lacked legitimate receiving options in 2022 and finished with the NFL’s 20th-ranked passing offense, and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers was the lone serious threat with 804 receiving yards and six touchdowns.

With quarterback Mac Jones regressing seriously last season, adding dynamic weaponry around him would help.

But, would San Francisco entertain such a transaction especially after negotiating that extension last offseason?

49ers likely won’t give into NFL rumors surrounding Patriots, Deebo Samuel

It’s one thing for the Patriots to “sniff” around Samuel. It’s another for the 49ers to actually entertain a trade.

For starters, with quarterbacks Trey Lance and Brock Purdy both on cheap rookie deals, the Niners can stockpile as much offensive weaponry as possible to push for a Super Bowl without having to spend large sums of cash for a signal-caller.

Read More: Deebo Samuel cussing out Kyle Shanahan? It happened

Beyond that, should San Francisco trade Samuel, it would incur over $28 million in dead money this year alone, according to Over the Cap, which would and should negate any thoughts of actually pulling the trigger.

The Pats can call and keep calling the 49ers about Samuel’s availability.

That availability, however, isn’t going to change for a long, long time. And that’ll leave this latest rumor on the scrap heap of NFL rumors that never came true.

Hat tip to 49ers Webzone for the find.