NFL free agency: Predicting where top 24 projected players land in 2023

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INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 30: Deebo Samuel #19 of the San Francisco 49ers runs with the ball during the game against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game at SoFi Stadium on January 30, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

2023 NFL Free Agency: Deebo Samuel, WR, San Francisco 49ers

Prediction: Tag-and-trade to Houston Texans

The Deebo Samuel saga is going to be a fascinating one to watch in 2022.

The 49ers clearly aren’t motivated to trade him, but that could have been said about almost every team that traded away a big-name wide receiver over the course of the 2022 NFL offseason.

None of these teams want to trade their star receivers, necessarily, but they are getting forced into these situations due to the amount of money the receivers want.

The 49ers may not be willing to pay Deebo Samuel the type of money he’s asking for, but the Houston Texans — armed with cap space and extra draft capital — might.

The Texans have been more aggressive in 2022 than anticipated and if Davis Mills can make strides in 2022, they might be even more aggressive on this kind of front, especially if the going rate is similar to what we saw for Tyreek Hill or Davante Adams.

In Houston, Samuel would join an offense that includes recently re-signed receiver Brandin Cooks as well as 2022 second-round pick John Metchie III.

Samuel would be the new centerpiece of Houston’s rebuild.

The nice thing is, if Houston stinks in 2022, they could use their top pick on a player like CJ Stroud or Bryce Young and deal the other one (from Cleveland) away for a player like Samuel. It wouldn’t be a one-for-one, but the first-rounder could be used as the centerpiece.

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