The San Francisco 49ers and wide receiver Deebo Samuel are at an impasse in contract negotiations which could lead to him playing elsewhere in 2022
This offseason has already seen its fair share of big moves but there could be more coming before the season kicks off. And one name to watch right now is Deebo Samuel, who is currently not thrilled with his contract negotiation with the San Francisco 49ers.
Samuel is one of several former second-round picks who has seen the receiver market explode and he wants to take advantage. As for the 49ers, they don’t want to trade him but as Peter Panacy of Niner Noise says, they will likely listen to offers.
With that being the case, here are three teams that could try and lure Samuel away from the Niners.
Deebo Samuel destination No. 3: Atlanta Falcons
There’s not a lot of talent on the Atlanta Falcons roster right now, which is why they would likely be interested in trying to land Deebo Samuel. Outside of Cordarrelle Patterson, there are no real offensive threats, which is less than ideal when planning to start Marcus Mariota.
There’s a belief the Falcons could be rebuilding but even so, landing a player such as Samuel who is just 26-years of age and entering his prime could help speed that along.
Of course, the Falcons would have to make a few moves in order for this to work. Despite their cupboard being bare, they still don’t have a lot of cap space, thanks in large part to Matt Ryan remaining on their books. They would need to get creative but adding Samuel could keep 2022 from being a complete loss of a season.
Deebo Samuel destination No. 2: Kansas City Chiefs
For the past several seasons, there hasn’t been a team in the NFL with a more dangerous passing offense than the Kansas City Chiefs. But in 2020, there were times when they looked almost human. Now, they were still very good but they seemed beatable.
Eventually, they were knocked off as the offense struggled in the second half of the AFC Championship Game against the Cinncinati Bengals. Unable to hold off the upstart young franchise, Kansas City was sent home.
Fast forward to now and there are again questions about this offense. While they did add JuJu Smith-Schuster in free agency, they also lost Tyreek Hill who was in a similar situation as Samuel – he wanted a new deal and the Chiefs decided to send him to Miami for a ton of draft picks.
That leaves superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes with Smith-Schuster, Mecole Hardman, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling as their top three wideouts. They could do worse but they could also do much better, and adding Deebo Samuel to the mix could help them do that.
The main question here is whether or not the Chiefs would want to do this since they were so hesitant to pay Hill. Samuel will expect a new deal should any team make a move so the Chiefs will have to find a way to make both sides happy.
If they could pull it off, the Chiefs would once again be the runaway favorites in the AFC.
Deebo Samuel destination No. 1: Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers are in a completely different situation than both the Atlanta Falcons and Kansas City Chiefs. While the Falcons and Chiefs have a huge portion of their salary cap tied to a quarterback (for Kansas City, at least their plays for their team), the Chargers are still paying theirs very little based on what he provides them.
Justin Herbert is entering year three as a pro, meaning he’s playing on his rookie deal and will count for just over $7 million this season. That’s a bargain considering he’s already mentioned among some of the best passers in today’s game.
Los Angeles could use this time to really go all-in for a title. They already brought in Khalil Mack to help the pass rush, and still have roughly $18 million to spend. They could decide to use some of that money – they would still need to make some moves to get this to work – to pay Samuel.
Also unlike the other teams mentioned, this wouldn’t be filling a massive need. L.A. already has Mike Williams and Keenan Allen, so they’re good in the passing game but adding Samuel as a player who can line up in the slot and the backfield would only make them more dangerous.
There will be shootouts in the AFC this season and the Chargers would be able to win more than their fair share should Deebo Samuel be added to the mix.