Deebo Samuel wants to be traded. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported before the Super Bowl that Samuel made the request at the end of the season, and the 49ers will allow he and his agent, Tory Dandy, to talk to other teams about a trade.
This is not a major surprise, but there is a lot going on behind the scenes to break down. Tim Kawakami of the SF Standard joined Willard and Dibs to help explain the mechanics of the situation.
"I've heard for a few weeks now that the 49ers were unhappy with Deebo's weight at the end of the season," Kawakami said. "Now, he got hurt. Some of this happens, but they were not happy. We saw it. He did not have the explosion. He was not bouncing off of people. He was not running through a defense like he'd done at least two, three years ago. It's just the reality of the way things develop. And I think at this point, he probably will not be a 49er, but there's still a chance he could still remain a 49er."
In reality, Kawakami believes that some of the 49ers' brass has likely been ready to part ways with Samuel. The team explored trading him last year.
"I think some people in the 49ers front office probably have been ready to trade Deebo for a while now, and if he doesn't want to take less money, then they're not going to have him on the team anymore," Kawakami said. "I think that is generally what is happening above and beyond anything else is going on...
"I just don't think the Deebo thing is specifically tied to any other thing the 49ers are going through at receiver. I think both sides kind of are ready to not be in business with each other."
The major complicating factor is that Samuel would cost north of $31 million in dead money this year if he was traded or cut before June 1, and he has a $15.4 million option bonus due March 22, 10 days after the new league year begins.
The 49ers won't have much interest in paying that, so what they could (or will likely do) is designate him as a post-June 1 cut to avoid that option bonus, and save north of $5 million by cutting him. That money just wouldn't be available until June 1. They could also save that much by trading him after June 1, but that would mean paying that option bonus, and likely getting draft compensation for next year's draft.
Listen to Tim Kawakami's full interview above