Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard recently delivered bad news to any San Francisco 49ers fans still hoping for another reconciliation between the team and wide receiver Deebo Samuel, similar to their resolution in 2022. Samuel requested a trade in January, and the 49ers granted him permission to explore options. According to Kawakami, both sides are ready to part ways.
On Thursday, the Bay Area insider expanded on his report, reiterating that Samuel will likely play elsewhere in 2025.
Kawakami wondered if the 49ers were merely allowing Samuel to gauge his true market value, potentially leading to a return if the interest wasn't what he expected. He quickly dismissed that notion.
"I checked. It is not that," Kawakami said on the 49ers +/- podcast. "I have heard that the two sides are separating, in their minds. Now, things can change. Who knows? If he has no opportunities out there, that might be different. But I don't think he has no opportunities if the 49ers release him. He might even get a nice new deal, but as a released player, not as a traded player, more likely.
"And that the two sides are—I don't want to say irreconcilable—but it's likely that the two sides have decided that they're [ready to] separate."
Samuel is set to count $15.87 million against the 2025 salary cap—a hefty number for a player whose production has declined since his breakout 2021 season when he amassed 1,770 scrimmage yards and 14 total touchdowns. Samuel tallied just 806 scrimmage yards and four total touchdowns this past season.
"He had a bad year," Kawakami said. "He is not in shape. I said it on last week's podcast—20 pounds. I keep hearing it, 20 pounds overweight. And that led to a lot of his lack of explosion, in their belief, his lack of ability to get through tackles, [which has] kind of been who he is. That's why he's so valuable. It's not because he's outrunning people.
"And the sense that Deebo's, 'Okay, you don't think I'm that valuable? Let me get out of here.' I think that this has come to an end. This relationship, which was great for Kyle Shanahan and Deebo—I think they're still close—but I think had been bumpy."
He concluded, "I've heard that this, the Deebo thing for sure, on both sides, where they both think that there needs to be separation. It's not like a play-it-out-threat thing. This is both sides are pretty well convinced that this is over."
Kawakami's co-host, Matt Barrows of The Athletic, believes the 49ers will ultimately release Samuel. Trading him is complicated, as doing so before June 1 would result in a dead-cap hit twice as large as simply keeping him. However, the 49ers could reduce the salary-cap impact by designating him a post-June 1 release.
A trade poses additional challenges. Barrows noted that Samuel could refuse to play for a team he doesn't want to join. If other teams expect the 49ers to release him anyway, they may not be willing to part with significant draft capital.
"There could be a team out there that wants to get ahead of a second team to get him, but Deebo Samuel's agent is going to tell that team 'No, he doesn't want to play there,' in which case it's over. So, I think that releasing him and allowing him to kind of choose his next home is probably the way this is going to go."
You can listen to the entire conversation below.