It appears the Deebo Samuel era is coming to an end in San Francisco.
That became clear when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the team gave Samuel permission to seek a trade after he asked for one in his end-of-season meeting with head coach Kyle Shanahan.
The chances the 49ers can or will trade him seem slim. That means he either plays out the final year of his contract at Age 29 before hitting unrestricted free agency next year, or he’s released.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano presented in a column the question of what happens if the 49ers can’t trade Samuel. He detailed the timeline and why the best course of action may be a release of the 2019 second-round pick.
Via ESPN:
Well, I’m pretty sure we’re going to find out — because from a cap standpoint, they really can’t trade him. Because of the way they’ve restructured Samuel’s deal over the years, the 49ers would take on $31.55 million in dead money cap charges for 2025 if they traded Samuel. That number would go up to about $47 million if they traded him after his March 22 option bonus came due, so this will obviously play itself out before then.
Releasing Samuel before March 22 and designating him as a post-June 1 cut is the only reasonable way for the 49ers to go here. It would result in a dead cap hit of roughly $10.75 million this season, and the remaining $20.8 million or so in dead money would go on their 2026 cap.
Releasing Samuel without a post-June 1 designation would cost the 49ers their full $31.55 million dead cap hit this year. There’s a chance they go that route and just clear their books of Samuel’s contract entirely.
It’s also unlikely they keep him in 2025 since he struggled so mightily in 2024, and carrying on their roster this season would count for $47 million against the cap.
No matter what happens with Samuel, the resolution will surely come down before that March 22 cutoff on his contract. In fact, it’ll likely come sooner so the 49ers give Samuel some runway early in free agency to find a new team.