The San Francisco 49ers are seriously considering parting ways withstar wideout Deebo Samuel. He’s the Swiss army knife of the offense that has been key to the 49ers' Super Bowl runs in recent years. But he’s not all that content in the Bay Area, and as the injuries and inconsistency mounts, San Francisco might be willing to move on for the right price.
Samuel wants to be the focal point of an offense, and while the 49ers have done everything they can to build around their do-it-all star in the past, things have been trending in a different direction of late. It won’t take long to find a team willing to take the plunge here, though: Samuel, in recent years, has been one of the most explosive players in the league, whether out of the backfield or out wide.
It’s what made him such a threat, and now he can land with a new team that needs him even more.
3) Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos should be one of the first teams to call the 49ers to see what it would take to get Samuel to the Mile High City. Bo Nix needs help on offense; as good as Courtland Sutton was, he’s not enough on his own — that proved true in the playoffs, as the Broncos scored just seven points in their Wild Card loss against the Buffalo Bills.
Another receiver, and specifically one that can be dangerous in the backfield as well as catching passes, is exactly the sort of piece Sean Payton needs to make this unit sing. Denver has the Los Angeles Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs in their division. They need more firepower to keep up with the rest of the division, and Samuel could put them over the top.
2) Houston Texans
C.J. Stroud is in need of another weapon on offense. His receiving core took hits practically all season, from Stefon Diggs tearing his ACL to Tank Dell suffering another gruesome leg injury that ended his season early and Nico Collins languishing on injured reserve for several weeks. Collins will be ready to rock in Week 1, but Diggs might be moving on, and either way, Samuel is a proven weapon to amplify this offense.
Joe Mixon was a great addition in the run game and helped take some of the pressure off Stroud to create, although that pressure increased when he started losing his receivers left and right. Nick Caley could use a great weapon like Samuel in his first season as offensive coordinator, replacing Bobby Slowik. The Texans have come up short to the Chiefs in consecutive seasons.
Maybe adding Samuel in the mix could be the key to become real contenders in the AFC. Stroud had a down year compared to his rookie season, if he wants to take this offense to the next level, Samuel might be the final piece who can give him easy outlets when things break down.
1) Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears could be a dark-horse candidate to add a weapon like Deebo Samuel this offseason. Ben Johnson is in his first year as the head coach, and when it comes to offensive weapons, he can’t have enough of them.
If Johnson managed to land a player like Samuel to pair with Caleb Williams, that could go a long way in helping this team turn things around in year one. The Bears have to think about next season like how the Washington Commanders turned things around with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, and while there are some decent weapons in-house, Samuel could provide some easy YAC opportunities to take some pressure off of Williams' shoulders.
Samuel was disappointed in his lack of production, reportedly. In Chicago, there would be no limit to his usage in that offense. Johnson found a multitude of ways to diversify the Detroit Lions offense on a weekly basis. Imagine what he’d do with Samuel.