The 49ers don’t need to trade one of Brandon Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel this offseason. However, in the aftermath of the team selecting Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall with the 31st overall pick in this year’s draft, Mike Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting the 49ers will likely trade Samuel.
This comes on the heels of reporting from Silver prior to the draft that said the 49ers would need to be “blown away by an offer” to move on from Samuel. It appears the sentiment inside the building changed after Pearsall dropped to San Francisco at the end of Round 1. Silver wrote in a column at the Chronicle that a deal could come together before Day 2 of the draft kicks off at 4:00pm Pacific Time on Friday.
It’s unclear why the 49ers would move Samuel this year when they can afford to keep him and Aiyuk on an extension. Next season the financial waters get a little more muddy.
If San Francisco does pull the trigger on a Samuel trade it would thrust Pearsall immediately into the spotlight as the 49ers’ No. 2 wide receiver. That’s certainly the long-term plan for him regardless, but asking him to fill Samuel’s shoes as a rookie is a tough ask. Trading Samuel would be a bad idea, but it looks like the 49ers are on the verge of making such a maneuver.
