Jason La Canfora of 105.7 The Fan stands firm on his report that the Baltimore Ravens reached out to the San Francisco 49ers regarding wide receiver Deebo Samuel, eyeing the opportunity to potentially acquire the dynamic star player.
On Thursday, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta laughed off the rumor, likening it to fiction, such as the children's story "The Lorax."
RELATED Ravens GM laughs off rumor surrounding interest in Deebo Samuel
La Canfora, appearing on Bay Area radio station 95.7 The Game, stands by his report, believing such a move would align with the Ravens' recent history.
"I think there's multiple teams calling [the 49ers about Samuel]," La Canfora stated on "The Morning Roast" show. "I had two general managers say they heard the Ravens, among others, making exploratory calls with them, trying to see if this Brandon Aiyuk situation might result in them being willing to trade somebody who has a little more call certainty and who's at a period of time know his contract is already established."
Aiyuk is next in line to earn a significant contract extension from the 49ers. Samuel received his extension before the 2022 season, signing a three-year, $73.5 million deal that keeps him under contract through 2025.
Keeping Samuel on the roster won't be inexpensive in the coming years. He is set to earn nearly $21 million in base salary for the 2024 season and will count for $28.6 million against this year's salary cap. If he remains on the roster in 2025, he'll earn an additional $16.6 million in base salary while counting $24.2 million against the cap.
"Wide receiver salaries have obviously gone pretty bonkers," La Canfora continued. "They've continued to do so, even for guys more towards the end of their career, like Mike Evans. So there's a lot of teams that would prefer to shop for a guy who, again, had a deal done a few years ago because it's escalating year over year over year, and who might be a little further advanced in their career, have a little more tread on their tires, who they could extract some value from."
La Canfora wasn't exactly complimentary regarding some other Ravens deals, using examples to back his belief that Samuel might be an enticing option.
"I mean, hell, these guys gave Odell Beckham Jr. $15 million last year, and he had about three good games," La Canfora stated. "So this is kind of how these guys roll. I mean, they brought Sammy Watkins in twice to do nothing both times but take their money. So they're good at that. So, of course they would be sniffing around, trying to find value.
"And yeah, there are definitely teams out there that believe, when all is said and done, that there might be a price that you could pry Deebo out of there."
La Canfora notes that the 49ers are probably intent on keeping both receivers but acknowledges that it is a long offseason, and things could change. Aiyuk's contract situation could certainly alter the team's plans.
"Until there's some certainty there, I think they're going to continue to have periodically teams calling to offer this or offer that or to at least explore, hey, what would it take?" La Canfora added. "... I think this is more just people calling around, saying, 'Hey, we might be looking to do something at receiver. What would it take? Are you open to Deebo? Is this a road worth going down? Do you need to figure things out with your other wide receiver first?'
"Sort of like planting the seed, like, 'This is something we might have interest in. We think this player fits us a certain way. Are you open to it?'"
You can listen to the conversation with La Canfora below.