The Washington Commanders have their new utility weapon for Jayden Daniels and this explosive young offense. The Commanders traded a fifth-round pick for Deebo Samuel on Saturday to anchor down another offensive weapon, bringing one of the league's premier YAC threats east.
It was a smart move for the Commanders, and a financially responsible one, too. The San Francisco 49ers will take the brunt of the financial hit by deciding to trade their disgruntled wideout, which goes to show how disgruntled the two sides really were.
Samuel was granted permission to speak with teams and consider a trade after feeling like he was under-used this past season. It was believed the 49ers were bluffing in sending Samuel to a new team. But clearly they were ready to move on, and they'll pay a premium to do so.
How much are the Washington Commanders on the hook for in Deebo Samuel’s contract?
Well, according to an ESPN+ story that laid out what the financial ramifications would be, the Commanders might only be responsible for $17.5 million over the 2025 season. Samuel had one-year left on his deal, but it got wonky when the 49ers restructured his deal to create cap space last season.
Of the money the Commanders would take on, the ESPN story said none of it would be guaranteed. It was an obvious move for the Commanders to make. They were cleaning out their receiver room this year with nearly every one gone at the conclusion of the season.
Now Samuel gets paired with McLaurin and immediately makes this an offense that could cause problems for opposing defenses. Samuel’s versatility makes him a threat anywhere on the field, and with McLaurin coming into his own, Daniels will have no shortage of weapons this fall.
What are the financial ramifications for the 49ers after trading Deebo Samuel?
The 49ers had backed themselves into a corner here. The team's decision to restructure Samuel's contract last September created more cap space in the short-term but less flexibility moving forward: Rather than creating about $9 million in 2025 cap space with this deal, Samuel will now take up a health portion of San Francisco's cap while playing elsewhere next season.
Samuel's prorated bonus money accelerates onto the Niners' cap, meaning the wideout will now be a $31 million dead money cap hit in 2025. Before they restructured his deal, ESPN reported that his cap hit would have just been $9 million.
It’s interesting for the 49ers to opt to trade him versus designating him a post-June 1 release. Doing that would have spread his cap hit over two seasons, not one, according to ESPN. Especially considering the fact that the 49ers didn’t get a massive haul for Samuel, it doesn’t make much sense to trade him now.
They could have waited until the NFL Draft or simply released him. Getting just a fifth-round pick in return doesn’t benefit them much, unless the situation was so untenable that the team just wanted to wash its hands as soon as possible and take their medicine in one offseason rather than spreading it across two.