This week, during Felger & Mazz, a Boston-area show on WBZ-FM radio, executive producer James Stewart told hosts Michael Felger and Tony Massarotti that he received a text message from an NFL talent evaluator that the New England Patriots were evaluating wide receiver options. He stated that one of those options was a San Francisco 49ers star. Stewart reported that the Patriots were "sniffing around" Deebo Samuel.
This rumor didn't make much sense for many reasons, the biggest being the financial impact of such a deal. If San Francisco parted ways with Samuel before June 1, the team would reportedly take on $28 million in dead money. However, believable or not, the rumor started to gain some steam on social media.
On Thursday, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated shut down the rumor during Early Edition with Trenni Casey and Phil Perry.
"I checked in with somebody who would absolutely know on this, and they said, 'A) We're not trading him and B) They haven't called,'" Breer said via NBC Sports Boston. "So wherever this is, it hasn't gotten to the Niners' desks. This isn't something that's been on the table for them at all."
Breer warns to never say never, though. While nothing appears imminent right now, or even at all this offseason, that doesn't mean the 49ers would ignore the possibility down the road.
"Now, you look at the Niners' history, could they be enticed to do something like that?" Breer continued. "Well, I look back at what happened in 2020 when they had to take care of both Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner. And their solution to that was, we're going to pay Arik Armstead, and we're going to trade DeForest Buckner. So they've been creative in these situations before.
"Brandon Aiyuk is going to be up in the next couple of years, and he's eligible for a new deal now. So could this evolve that way? Sure. But there's no meat on the bone there as of right now."