ESPN reporter Dan Graziano recently evaluated the NFL landscape to identify potential offseason trade and cut candidates. One name stood out as a likely casualty while examining the San Francisco 49ers' salary cap situation. It's a player whose future with the team has been the subject of speculation for some time now—Deebo Samuel.
Graziano highlighted the substantial investments the 49ers have made in their wide receiver corps this year. They selected Ricky Pearsall with the 31st overall pick in April's draft, extended Jauan Jennings' contract later in the offseason, and resolved a prolonged standoff with Brandon Aiyuk by signing him to a lucrative deal, making him one of the NFL's highest-paid receivers.
These moves leave Samuel as the likely odd man out.
"Samuel's contract structure is interesting," Graziano wrote. "He'll make about $16.6 million next year, but about $15.4 million of that is in the form of an option bonus the team has to decide on before the 10th day of the league year in March. So the 49ers could trade him before that date, leaving his new team responsible for the 2025 cash -- but the Niners would carry a dead-money charge of $31.55 million on their 2025 cap."
Given that significant salary cap hit, another option may be on the table: releasing Samuel.
"Releasing Samuel and designating him as a post-June 1 cut would allow them to defray that cost over two years, and if they do decide to move on, that's the more likely decision," Graziano explained.
However, there's a catch. While teams can designate players as post-June 1 cuts to mitigate salary cap impacts, Graziano notes that no such option exists for trades. To achieve the same effect, a team would have to wait until June 1 to trade the player—an unworkable solution in Samuel's case, given the deadline to make a decision.
Graziano also noted that Samuel might be one of many veterans whose future could be scrutinized. The 49ers may have to evaluate the long-term value of keeping other key players, including Trent Williams, Fred Warner, George Kittle, and Javon Hargrave.
Williams, by the way, just had his contract reworked before the season. According to Spotrac.com, the first potential out on the deal comes after the 2025 season.
"The outcomes of all of these situations could depend on the way the rest of this season goes for San Francisco," Graziano concluded, "but just don't be surprised if you start to see a little bit of overhaul. And that's especially true at the receiver position, where a lot of the resources have gone to other players over the past calendar year."