Photo courtesy of CBSSports.com
From the moment news broke that Deebo Samuel had requested a trade from the San Francisco 49ers, the assumption was that a deal would be made before or during the 2022 NFL Draft. Well, the draft has come and gone and while there were some noteworthy wide receivers traded over the weekend, none of them were named Deebo Samuel. The reality is Deebo is too good of a fit for Kyle Shanahan's offense for the 49ers to consider trading him for anything less than an offer the Niners can't refuse. The 49ers did address one perceived concern of Deebo's by drafting another running back and to help lighten his usage load. Now, with OTA's and minicamp right around the corner, the question is, how quickly can the 49ers fix whatever is broken in the relationship with Deebo? John Lynch made it clear that trading him is the last option the 49ers want to explore. #icouldbewrong, but I think Deebo ends up signing a lucrative extension before the start of training camp and the two sides bury the hatchet. If the 49ers are unable to accomplish that feat, then they are setting up their presumed new signal caller, Trey Lance, for failure before he even gets going. Although Deebo could "hold in" during training camp and cause a disturbance by doing so, the truth is that the 49ers have the leverage in this scenario. Deebo is not a true #1 wideout in the traditional sense. So, any team that trades for him has to either accept that fact and expect less production than he gave the Niners or change their offensive scheme to fit him. Neither of those is a very appealing idea. They have Deebo under contract. If he holds out then he doesn't get credit for an accrued season, which hurts him down the road. The team could even place the franchise tag on him next year if they chose to do so. Tagging him is highly unlikely but it does remain a possibility. So as the NFL world waits to see which side will blink first, let me be the first to say, "You can all stop rubbernecking. Nothing to see here folks."
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