Mike Florio accuses the 49ers of being inconsiderate and ignorant to Deebo Samuel
The NFL is starting to function more like the NBA, with superstars looking for trades away from their franchises with far more frequency than usual. Deebo Samuel, the latest top-line talent to want a ticket out of town, may or may not get his wish.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Samuel has every right to be so upset. He believes the 49ers overpromised and underdelivered in contract negotiations, where he is set to get a big raise over the sub-$5 million salary he is currently making. Florio argued:
“It is amazing that it's come to this I've said that over and over again. Whatever happened, the 49ers either did something or didn't do something said something or didn't say something that helped harden his resolve."
If Samuel wanted to stay with San Francisco, Florio thinks he would have figured out a way to put up with living in California. He added:
"Because even if it is I don't want to live in California. Okay, I'll make an exception because I really love playing for the 49ers I really love being part of this organization. I can go back and forth. Aaron, Donald doesn't love living in California. He's a Pittsburgh guy, he'd prefer to be closer to Pittsburgh, but they take care of him, he deals with it. If the 49ers were properly taken care of Deebo Samuel he would deal with it too."
As for the 49ers side, the discussion shifted to the possibility of a Counting Crows' "Big Yellow Taxi" situation, not knowing what they had until it's gone:
"And I can't help but wonder at some level, whether or not the 49ers simply believe they will get themselves another lottery ticket, scratch it off, and get a Deebo Samuel, because they could delude themselves into thinking we made Samuel, he didn't make our offense, there are plenty of other guys, we can plug into our offense who could become Deebo Samuel, that's, that's a hell of a risk to take. Because I think there are qualities that Deebo has, that you just don't pluck a guy out of the draft and say he's going to become Deebo Samuel."
There is no movement on the Deebo Samuel trade front right now
According to Ian Rapoport, there is currently no movement on the Samuel trade front. That's likely not something the wideout would be happy to hear, but there is still time before the NFL Draft to rectify that.
The Jets are reportedly willing to part ways with a slew of picks to land Samuel, including the 10th overall pick. It remains to be seen whether the Jets and 49ers can agree to terms before or during the 2022 NFL draft.