Deebo Doubles Down On Trade Rumors: 'I'm Not Staying' With 49ers; Could Falcons Deal?

The 49ers star receiver requested a trade last week and confirmed his trade request over the weekend.

Jeremy Brener | Apr 25, 2022

Days after publicly requesting a trade from the San Francisco 49ers, star wide receiver Deebo Samuel was seen at a club in southern California.

Deebo Samuel, Cordarrelle Patterson

Deebo Samuel

USATSI_17596955 — Jeff Hanisch/USA Today Sports

Deebo Samuel

At some point during the night, a video on social media captured bottle service girls blaring up a large lit sign that read 'Deebo is staying.' Then, the camera panned to Samuel, who laughed and signaled that he did not agree with the sign.

Yea, Deebo Samuel is OUT of San Francisco 😂

The bottle girls brought the sign out saying “Deebo is staying #49ers”

Only problem is, Deebo was there. Wait for his reaction🙅🏾‍♂️😂 pic.twitter.com/v6laTbx3Iz
— Scoutology Sports (@TheScoutology) April 24, 2022

It's pretty clear that Samuel does not want to play for the 49ers again. So should the Atlanta Falcons pick up the phone and call them?

For a team like the Atlanta Falcons who need a wide receiver arguably more than any other position and hold a high draft pick, it seems like a match made in heaven.

However, money is a massive issue here for the Falcons.

Part of Samuel's reasoning for requesting a trade is his contract situation. Samuel's contract is set to expire at season's end and he'll look to become one of the richest receivers in the league either this offseason or next.

The Falcons are taking the largest dead cap hit in NFL history after trading Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts earlier this offseason and are not in position to be shelling out a ton of money at the moment.

Given the patterns general manager Terry Fontenot has shown this offseason when signing free agents, he's currently interested in handing out low-risk, low-value contracts to players like linebacker Rashaan Evans and running back Damien Williams. Evans and Williams will have impact without burning the wallet too much.

Rashaan Evans

Damien Williams

Terry Fontenot

For a team that's heading for a rebuild, a trade for someone like Samuel doesn't make too much sense. But a trade of a top 10 receiver in the game will perpetuate drama throughout the entire league.

Published Apr 25, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.