For weeks it's appeared that Deebo Samuel has wanted out of San Francisco, reportedly due to a difference in both average annual salary and guaranteed money in a proposed contract extension, leaving uncertainty on whether the receiver would play another snap for the organization.
On Thursday, some optimism was provided as Samuel remained a 49er past the first round of the draft, while his fellow third-year wideout A.J. Brown was traded from the Tennessee Titans to the Philadelphia Eagles for a first-rounder and a third-rounder.
Brown then signed a four-year, $100 million extension with his new club, including $57 million guaranteed.
Now, with Samuel still on the 49ers' roster, it's unlikely that he's moved in 2022, as the intrigue of 2023 draft picks doesn't help the team compete in the immediate window, which was the primary reason that San Francisco elected to go the route of a rookie quarterback.
Additionally, with salary being a primary dispute, A.J. Brown brings the market down once again, as he didn't reset the market on either average annual value(Tyreek Hill at $30 million) or total guarantees(Tyreek Hill at $72.5 million).
While the 49ers will likely have to top those numbers for their star receiver, it's now a more financially manageable task that has time to complete, with the ranges of $60-65 million guaranteed sounding like a realistic target.