John Lynch: 49ers plan to honor Deebo Samuel’s request to leave

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch spoke with reporters on Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, confirming that there has been significant interest in wide receiver Deebo Samuel from other NFL teams.

Samuel requested a trade in January, and the 49ers permitted him to explore options. While financial hurdles remain in facilitating a trade, Lynch confirmed that the team intends to honor Samuel's request to play elsewhere.

"We're on good terms with Deebo," Lynch said. "He's asked for a fresh start, and I think we're going to honor that. I don't like seeing great players [leave], and he is a great player. He's, I think, often, one of my favorite draft picks in my time. This guy's just a—he makes plays, and he makes game-changing plays."

Samuel is coming off one of his most disappointing seasons, recording 806 scrimmage yards and four total touchdowns—both career lows, excluding his injury-plagued 2020 campaign. Samuel has failed to surpass 900 receiving yards in five of his six NFL seasons.

"Everything's good, but I think at some point, time happens, and he asked for that," Lynch said. "There's contracts and things, but it probably makes sense, so we're at least allowing him to look, and we're having conversations. We'll see where that goes."

Lynch emphasized that situations like these can be challenging.

"There's a lot of love there," Lynch said. "There's a lot of respect there. There's a lot of shared experiences. So to let that go, that's difficult. But, like I said, time happens, and if it makes sense for both sides, you at least give it a chance, and so that's where we're at."

If the 49ers cannot trade Samuel, they will likely release the wide receiver with a post-June 1 designation to minimize the salary cap impact of his departure.

"Hopefully, we find a great place," Lynch added. "Then we'll have to make a decision if we don't. But I can say there's been a lot of interest around the league."