Amid the Super Bowl LIX festivities, the word dropped that San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel has requested a trade from the organization. This isn’t the first time he’s wished to go on but his worth to the squad has lessened and it’s probable that the feeling is mutual.
The Las Vegas Raiders have one strong wide receiver in Jakobi Meyers but the depth behind him leaves a lot to be desired. Considering Samuel’s contract situation, he’s not likely to bring the 49ers a significant return in a trade.
The Raiders could explore buying low on the former All-Pro. Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report suggested a trade that would have Las Vegas deliver a conditional 2025 third-round pick to the 49ers to get Samuel.
“Las Vegas has the cap space needed to immediately sign Samuel to an extension, and it could then use the rest of its financial flexibility to other areas, like its offensive line and backfield,” Knox wrote in a Feb. 9 piece.
“It’s worth noting that the Seattle Seahawks were reportedly interested in drafting Samuel back in 2019, per [Adam] Schefter, when Carroll was Seattle’s head coach.”
The Raiders traded Davante Adams to the New York Jets for a third-round pick during the season. If they made this trade, it would be basically swapping Adams for Samuel.
Deebo Samuel Has Not Been a Productive WR
The 49ers may have a difficult time finding a suitor for Samuel. While he is a former All-Pro, he hasn’t been that productive as a wide receiver in recent years. Since his 2021 season that saw him gather 1,405 receiving yards, he hasn’t had more than 892 receiving yards in three straight seasons.
His upside as a player who could also make plays in the backfield as a rusher has reduced as well. At this moment, Samuel is an average No. 2 wide receiver or a high-end No. 3 wide receiver. A third-round pick might even be too rich to deal for him.
One thing that’s tempting is that he is on an expiring agreement. If the Raiders trade for him, they may be better off letting him play out his contract to determine if he’s a fit. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly is a creative playcaller and could get interested by Samuel’s versatility.
Raiders Could Be Aggressive Addressing WR
As Knox noted out, Raiders head coach Pete Carroll has been interested in Samuel in the past. He knows the wide receiver well from his tenure as the Seattle Seahawks head coach. Even if the Raiders don’t want Samuel, they are likely to be aggressive in addressing the wide receiver problem.
Meyers and star tight end Brock Bowers are a nice start but adding a star wide receiver to this bunch may truly open up the passing game. The Raiders also don’t have a clear path to adding a star quarterback this summer so they could simply try to put together the strongest offensive possible to complement an average quarterback. Luckily, the Raiders have lots of salary cap space and should be able to recruit high-end talent players if they’d like to.
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