According to Josina Anderson, the Patriots had “preliminary trade discussions on 49ers WR Deebo Samuel” prior to the NFL draft.
Anderson indicates that the 49ers and Patriots had a “challenging” time finding middle ground on compensation for Samuel.
Yesterday, Dianna Russini reported that the 49ers have had conversations with teams about including either WR Brandon Aiyuk or Samuel in a trade to move up in the first round.
However, the first round came and went without a deal in place.
There has been persistent buzz about Aiyuk being available as the two sides remain divided in contract discussions. San Francisco has reportedly been asking for a first-round pick to part with Aiyuk, though some teams think they might take an early second and a third.
If the 49ers aren’t confident in ultimately extending Aiyuk — and the receiver market continues to grow significantly.
The 49ers could also free up salary by trading Samuel, though one report from Michael Silver said they had given the veteran assurances they wouldn’t trade him. Silver said today the 49ers would have to be blown away by an offer to move Samuel.
The 49ers opted to select Florida WR Ricky Pearsall in round one last night, which will only add to trade speculation involving one of their star receivers.
Samuel, 28, is a former second-round pick of the 49ers out of South Carolina back in 2019. He was entering the fourth year of a four-year, $7,697,356 rookie contract that included a $3,618,076 signing bonus when he signed a three-year, $71.5 extension with $58.1 million guaranteed.
He’s due base salaries of $20.972 million and $16.6 million over the final two years of the deal.
In 2023, Samuel appeared in 15 games for the 49ers and caught 60 passes on 89 targets for 892 yards receiving and seven touchdowns to go along with 37 rushes for 225 yards and five additional touchdowns.
We’ll have more on the 49ers, Aiyuk and Samuel as the news is available.
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