NFL trade: 49ers sending star receiver Deebo Samuel to Commanders: report

The San Francisco 49ers have reportedly reached an agreement on the first major trade of the NFL offseason. According to ESPN, All-Pro Deebo Samuel will head east and play for the Washington Commanders in 2025.

The 49ers are expected to receive a fifth-round draft pick in exchange for the star wide receiver, per the report. 

Earlier this week at the NFL Scouting Combine, 49ers general manager John Lynch confirmed reports stating Samuel requested a trade. Lynch said the team planned to “honor” the request.

“He’s asked for a fresh start, and I think we’re going to honor that,” Lynch said Wednesday.

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Samuel spent the first six seasons of his NFL career with the 49ers after the team selected him in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

He earned first-team All-Pro honors and a Pro Bowl selection after he finished the 2021 season with a career-high 1,405 receiving yards. Samuel and the Niners reached an agreement on a three-year contract extension after that standout season.

Samuel missed two games during the 2024 season, but he experienced a noticeable drop-off in production when he did play. He finished the year with 670 receiving yards and 136 rushing yards as San Francisco stumbled to a disappointing 6-11 record. 

Samuel spoke to 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan about being traded during the offseason and later had a conversation with Lynch.

“Then, he came up and talked with me, and we had a very honest and frank conversation,” Lynch said. “He told us his reasons. I asked him to sit on it, sleep on it and we’d do the same. We did, and we told him he could go talk to people.”

The deal will not become official until March 12, the start of the new league year.

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