Offers came in for Deebo Samuel, whose trade request occurred 10 days ago. But the 49ers held firm and were not believed to have seriously engaged. That approach differed from the Titans’, with A.J. Brown now an Eagle due to contract considerations.
Brown’s $25M-per-year deal will affect the 49ers’ partnership with Samuel, but the latter remains a 49er. With this week serving as a loose deadline for a trade, per ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner, Samuel may not be on the move anytime soon.
“You’ll consider anything. You’ve got a responsibility to help your organization the most you can, but there’s no player like Deebo,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said, via Wagoner. “It’s hard to see how that helps your organization. So, you try to look into all the aspects of it and what people are willing to do and nothing was even remotely close that we thought it would be fair for the Niners.”
The Jets were believed to have offered their No. 10 overall pick for Samuel, but that offer would have also included the 49ers’ No. 61 overall choice going to New York. It does not look like the Lions offered No. 2 overall, with Detroit’s proposal being referred to as “light” on Friday. Aaron Rodgers also discussed the matter during his latest "Pat McAfee Show" cameo, acknowledging the 49ers trading a player like this to the Packers was unlikely.
Although the sides can still huddle up to resolve this matter, Shanahan said he was “a little disappointed” and “surprised” by this saga’s developments. Nevertheless, Samuel is still under contract through 2022. The 49ers have budgeted an extension, and although their initial offer (believed to be under $19M per year) irked Samuel’s camp, plenty of time remains for a negotiation to be finalized. The 49ers did not re-up George Kittle until midway through training camp ahead of his contract year.
“You can work out anything,” Shanahan said. “We’ll see. Hopefully when this is all said and done, we’ll get the best thing for the Niners and the best thing for Deebo and hopefully that’s the same thing because we’d love to keep going how we’ve been. But we know that’s in front of us right now.”
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