According to a report by Nicholas McGee of “The 33rd Team,” the 49ers received several “Tireek Hill/Davante Adams-type offers for Deebo Samuel” ahead of the draft.
I can't say I blame them. It's well documented how effective the 49ers offense was last year with Deebo in the fold. It's a much less explosive team without him. That being said, any leverage they might have had before the draft in a "Davante Adams-type offer" was thrown out the window as soon as A.J. Brown signed a 4-year, $100 million extension with the Philadelphia Eagles.
It’s more money than they want to pay Deebo, but less than what K.C. got for Tyreek Hill
While many people think Samuel is the best player right now, Brown held that honor just a year ago. Brown is also a year younger and has only missed six games in his career so far. Deebo missed 11. What I'm trying to say is that Brown and Samuel should be rated relatively close to each other. Samuel has the advantage in my opinion, but it's close, and who knows if my tone would have changed if Samuel hadn't been used as a running back in Kyle Shanahan's offense last year. Samuel claimed he didn't like the way he was used in San Francisco's offense in 2021, and his value plummets without his halfback skills. If he wants to be used ONLY as a receiver, he and Brown should be considered relative equals.
Note:- check out the post right here A.J. Brown’s deal is the worst-case scenario for 49ers keeping Deebo Samuel.
Samuel's relative equal was just traded for a first- and third-rounder, then signed a deal worth $25 million a year. That's probably more money than the 49ers wanted to pay Samuel. It's also a far cry from the loot the Chiefs got for Tyreek Hill. Hill is 28, and yet the Chiefs have had first, second and fourth this year, as well as fourth and sixth next year. The deal for Adams wasn't quite as crazy, just a first and second from the Raiders, but it was also before Hill reset the wide receiver market with his $30 million a year contract.
The 49ers reportedly said it would take a "royal ransom" to acquire Deebo Samuel. A first and a third are not a king's ransom. It's a good move, but it's not even what the Niners gave up for the third overall pick two years ago. Add to that the fact that Deebo is going for $25 million per deal now that Brown has made the deal with Philadelphia, and you've got yourself in a tight spot if you're Niners general manager John Lynch.
San Francisco has already played poorly this offseason with the Jimmy Garoppolo situation. At this point, cutting it off would be beneficial. At least that would open up a ceiling space. However, the Niners doubled down on their offseason idiocy with how they handled Samuel's situation. If they had traded him before Brown was traded, they likely would have gotten a lot more. If they had paid for it before Brown signed his extension, they probably would have gotten it for a lot less. Instead, they have neither and now they can't trade Deebo for a first-round pick. Hopefully this whole saga will end soon. Odell Beckham Jr. claims he has "tea" on the Deebo situation, so maybe it ends sooner than expected.
If Samuel is traded, we know it won't be as much as the Niners would have gotten had they made the trade just 24 hours ago.
