The ramifications of the San Francisco 49ers’ moves last offseason are coming home to roost. It was well discussed during the Brandon Aiyuk extension saga that they wouldn’t be able to afford both Aiyuk and Samuel beyond the 2024 season, and that appears to be coming back into play. Ian Rapoport is reporting this morning via NFL.com that they are expected to explore trading Samuel.
“Sources say the 49ers are expected to explore trading Samuel this offseason,” Rapoport wrote. “While it’s not a certainty that Samuel is done in San Francisco, it’s enough of a possibility that both sides appear to be at peace with moving on if it goes that way.”
Why is this of interest to the Pittsburgh Steelers? There were times they were linked to Samuel throughout the Aiyuk saga last year, with some theorizing a draft-day trade talk involving Samuel. The asking price was reportedly too high at the time. The Steelers are still in need of help at the wide receiver position.
Samuel is 29 years old and didn’t have a very productive 2024 season relative to his contract. He was targeted 81 times and had 51 receptions for 670 yards and three TDs, with another 136 yards and a TD on the ground. As Samuel put it, he can still be plenty productive, but he didn’t feel like he was being featured enough to show it. In December, he posted on social media to vent his frustrations at not getting the ball.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Samuel requested a trade and the 49ers have granted his agent permission to seek a partner.
“It was a hard conversation to have with Kyle (Shanahan) because of the relationship that we have,” Samuel told ESPN via Schefter on X. “But I have to do what’s best. I’m more than thankful for the Niners giving me the opportunity of a lifetime, but now I think it’s best that we find another team.”
The 49ers were down some of their top weapons this season. Aiyuk, Christian McCaffrey, and Ricky Pearsall were all unable to contribute due to injury. You would think that would have meant a big year for Samuel, but that wasn’t the case.
He had over 1,000 all-purpose yards in 2023 but failed to reach that mark in two of the last three years. It was back in 2021 that he earned his big contract extension the following offseason with 1,405 receiving and 365 rushing yards.
Samuel’s contract had void years tacked onto the end, so 2025 is technically his last year under contract. Much like Aiyuk last offseason, whichever team trades for him would likely need to negotiate a contract extension as part of the deal to make the draft capital worth giving up.
The Steelers probably aren’t in a position to make this type of move for an aging playmaker who likely won’t be cheap to extend, but there was enough smoke last offseason to be worth mentioning.
