Why the 49ers Should Trade Deebo Samuel

It wasn't long ago that Samuel WAS the 49ers offense.

Deebo Samuel has had an outstanding career with the 49ers. But he'll be 29 next season, he's not getting better and he'll take up more than 10 percent of the team's salary cap. It's time for the 49ers to trade him.

It wasn't long ago that Samuel WAS the 49ers offense. He was their No. 1 receiver and the best running back, too. Any time he touched the ball, he was a threat to score a touchdown.

Now, he's not a particularly effective running back anymore -- the 49ers hardly ever hand him the ball because they don't need to. They have Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell. So a big part of Samuel's game is gone.

Plus, he isn't particularly dangerous running end arounds, reverses and jet sweeps anymore -- it seems the league has caught on to those gimmick plays.

In addition, Samuel never has been a good route runner, and he's getting worse. He absolutely cannot beat quality man-to-man coverage, as we saw in the Super Bowl when Chiefs nickelback Trent McDuffie shut him down.

Which means Samuel can't get himself open. And that means he's only effective if the opponent is playing zone coverage or if he's catching screen passes. And he's still extremely dangerous with the ball in his hands, but he has become one of the limited players on the 49ers offense.

If the 49ers traded Samuel, they still would have Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey and Kyle Juszczyk -- that's an elite group of weapons. If they were smart, they'd trade Samuel for an offensive linemen, because they don't need more weapons.

That's what the Chiefs would do.