It’s NFL Combine week, and that means the rumor mill is working overtime with media, coaches, executives, and agents meeting in Indianapolis. Several players are already on the trade block, including San Francisco 49ers WR Deebo Samuel. Jordan Schultz reported earlier today the Washington Commanders and Houston Texans have had significant in Samuel, with talks progressing recently. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos are also showing interest, but the Commanders and Texans are “believed to be the most aggressive” per Schultz.
My annual “late night total rumors at the combine” column will come out next week but one rumor I heard that may be out of date by the time it gets published is that Deebo Samuel will be traded very soon. Multiple teams are interested in Deebo – Commanders are one of them.
— Matthew Berry (@MatthewBerryTMR) February 28, 2025
The Washington Commanders will be adding a wide receiver or three this offseason to working with Jayden Daniels in his second season. They have five pending free agents at the position with Terry McLaurin set to return for the final year of his deal. GM Adam Peters has a lot of work to do in his second season with Washington, and he could start that by acquiring a player he helped draft with a second round pick in 2019.
Deebo Samuel requested a trade, and 49ers GM John Lynch told the media this week that the team is honoring his request to give him a fresh start. A trade to Washington would pair him a QB coming off an amazing rookie season, and a veteran WR who broke the franchise’s regular season TD record last season. Samuel had a down season last year, and dealt with a few injuries. He ended his likely final season in San Francisco with 51 receptions for 670 yards and 3 TDs. He also had 42 carries for another 136 yards and a TD.
The question most people want to know is what would this trade cost, both in trade compensation, and Samuel’s contract. ESPN brought up some issues the 49ers could have with trading Samuel after his contract was restructured last year.
The 49ers restructured Samuel’s contract last September in a move to create cap space, which has made a trade right now extremely daunting. Before the restructure, trading him would have created about $9 million in 2025 cap space — the final year of his deal, as the rest of the years are automatic voids. After the restructure, Samuel costs $28.2 million against the 2025 cap (his option bonus kicks in 10 days after the new league year begins). But if he’s traded and his prorated bonus money accelerates back onto the 2025 cap, he’ll hit the 49ers for $31 million in dead cap money. Simply put, it would be more expensive to trade Samuel than to keep him.
As such, Samuel is a great release candidate. It would actually provide the 49ers cap relief instead of cap pain. By designating him a post-June 1 cut, his cap hit would be defrayed over two seasons instead of one. So the 49ers can hold onto Samuel for quite some time after the league year begins, perhaps targeting a trade on draft day or in training camp when another roster has a bigger need. If they don’t get a deal, then they can release him.
The acquiring team in a Samuel deal probably would take on one year and $17.5 million — all non-guaranteed.
The cost to trade for him will depend on how much serious interest he’s getting from other teams. Samuel’s production has declined, and the injuries have continued throughout his high-use career. Team’s will want to limit their loss of draft capital, and possibly push to give up future picks due to his contract situation. ESPN projected a 2026 fourth and 2027 fifth-round pick that could become another fourth if he’s still on the team next in 2026. If a trade happens soon, a pick in this year’s draft might need to be swapped in if there’s real competition for him from multiple teams.