The Deebo Samuel era in the Bay Area has reached its end. The San Francisco 49ers have agreed to trade the star receiver to the Washington Commanders, per CBS Sports lead NFL Insider Jonathan Jones. As for the compensation, the Commanders are sending a fifth-round pick to the Niners in exchange for Samuel, per ESPN.
While this trade is agreed to between both sides, it cannot become official until the start of the new league year on March 12. The Commanders, however, took to social media to signify that some news had just gone down.
Samuel’s departure from the 49ers had been looming for quite a while, and general manager John Lynch had told reporters this week at the NFL Scouting Combine that the team was “going to honor” his trade request. They have, and now Samuel is heading to Washington where he’ll join an offense headlined by NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels, who will be throwing him the football.
Along with the Commanders, who ultimately landed Samuel, Jones reports that the receiver garnered interest from several teams, including the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The crux of Samuel’s trade request stemmed from the wideout entering the final year of his contract. He’s currently due a base salary of $1.17 million and has no guaranteed money remaining on his deal, so it’s likely that the Commanders will also be inking him to some sort of an extension to help facilitate the deal and integrate him into the organization.
Samuel, 29, had spent his entire career with the 49ers up until this trade. The team drafted him in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of South Carolina. Last season, he totaled 51 receptions for 670 yards and three touchdowns over 15 games played. He also rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown.
With Samuel gone, the Niners will look toward 2024 first-round pick Ricky Pearsall along with veteran Jauan Jennings to step up in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. At the moment, Brandon Aiyuk, who is coming off a torn ACL, also factors into the equation of added targets with Samuel gone, but he’s also been the subject of trade talks this offseason.
As for the Commanders, they get a much-needed secondary pass-catching option for Daniels. After fellow star Terry McLaurin, Olamide Zaccheaus was the No. 2 wide receiver in Washington’s offense last season with 506 yards receiving. Tight end Zach Ertz, who is set to be a free agent, was second on the team in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns behind McLaurin, so Samuel comes in as the clear No. 2 option.