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Deebo Samuel Requested a Trade During his Exit Meeting with the 49ers

In hindsight, it's too bad the 49ers didn't move Deebo Samuel the first time he requested a trade back in 2022.

Grant Cohn

Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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If it seemed like Deebo Samuel didn't want to play for the 49ers this season, that's because he probably didn't.

He seemed miserable. He complained about his lack of touches on Twitter after a win. He struck a teammate on the sideline during another win. And then in his exit interview with Kyle Shanahan, Samuel officially requested a trade according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

“It was a hard conversation to have with Kyle (Shanahan) because of the relationship that we have,” Samuel said per Schefter. “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.”

I honestly don't understand Samuel's issue with the 49ers. He got the ball on offense 93 times this season. In 2023, he got 97 touches. His workload was virtually identical.

What changed was his effectiveness. He got open less often, broke fewer tackles than usual and dropped a bunch of passes. And it seems he blames the 49ers. He should look inward.

Any team that gives Samuel more than 90 touches in 2025 isn't serious about winning. And if all he wants is more touches, then he's not serious about winning, either. He cares about himself. Maybe he would prefer to play for the Raiders where he could be the No. 1 target on a terrible team. But I'm not sure they'd want him potentially ruining the culture they're trying to build.

In hindsight, it's too bad the 49ers didn't move Samuel the first time he requested a trade back in 2022. They could have gotten the 10th pick in the draft for him three years ago. Now, they'll be fortunate to get a fifth-round pick in return.

The 49ers brought this on themselves.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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