The fact veteran wide receiver Deebo Samuel remains unsigned this deep into the offseason pretty much vindicates the San Francisco 49ers for making the awfully tough decision to trade him to the Washington Commanders a year ago.
If Samuel was still on the up-and-up, he would've been gone within the first days and hours of free agency last March. But, with his legendary 2021 campaign turning into a distant memory, the 30-year-old dual-threat weapon is now seen as little more than an ancillary piece for an offense that already boasts plenty of pieces.
An offense like that of... the Seattle Seahawks?
Seeing Deebo in the Hawks' navy blue and neon green would certainly be, well... ugly. And it would probably feel like a proverbial slap to the face of many a Niners fan.
But, as Fox Sports' Ben Arthur recently suggested, it's not out of the realm of possibility.
Idea of Seahawks WR Deebo Samuel is all kinds of ugly (but possible)
Arthur compiled a list of still-available free agents and linked them to plausible destinations, and San Francisco was mentioned more than once on said list.
As for Samuel, his logical landing spot was with Seattle; Arthur using a connection with its new offensive coordinator, former 49ers tight ends coach Brian Fleury:
The Seahawks shouldn’t rule out more depth at wide receiver. Given that he’ll have a full year with Seattle in 2026, midseason acquisition Rashid Shaheed should naturally step into the WR2 role alongside Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba. But Cooper Kupp is entering his age-33 season.Â
New Seahawks offensive coordinator Brian Fleury and the 30-year-old Samuel overlapped in San Francisco from 2019-24, including for Samuel’s first-team All-Pro season in 2021.Â
From the Seahawks' perspective, it could make plenty of sense. As a high-end WR3 who can line up all over the field, Samuel still has value. And defenses still respect his reputation for what he accomplished back in 2021 when he carried the Niners offense, almost literally.
That said, it would feel way too dirty for San Francisco to watch Samuel join an NFC West rival coming off a Super Bowl championship.
Even worse than another proposed Samuel link earlier this offseason to another divisional rival.
Hopefully, the talk of Deebo signing with the Hawks is nothing more than speculation and conjecture, and the actuality of something this cringeworthy happening ultimately fails.
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