Jeremy Fowler of ESPN recently reported that a slew of teams have expressed interest in San Francisco 49ers star wide receiver Deebo Samuel . On thing is clear, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have stiff competition for the dual-threat receiver.
"I just checked in on this," Fowler said Thursday on ESPN's NFL Live . "I was told that several teams have expressed interest, so at least preliminary talks on a potential trade have happened between Samuel, his agent and the team."
Fowler noted that these discussions are likely just exploratory, with teams gauging the situation. Similar to the situation with Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles .
CBS Sports recently p roposed a Steelers trade package for Samuel. The outlet thinks a fourth-round pick (122 overall) straight up would be enough to bring the talented wideout to the Steel City.
"It's no secret the Steelers are in the market for a wide receiver. In fact, these two teams nearly executed a deal for Brandon Aiyuk last season, reportedly agreeing to the parameters of the trade before the receiver decided to say with San Francisco . While that deal didn't work out, it showed that the two sides are quite comfortable negotiating, so why not pick the phone back up? As for the fourth-round pick compensation, ESPN surmised that a Day 3 pick may be what Samuel ultimately fetches on the trade market," Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports wrote . "Getting a selection just outside the top 100 would be a solid return for San Francisco. However, the elephant in the room could be Samuel's desire to ultimately go to Pittsburgh given the franchise's current uncertainty at quarterback with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields set to hit free agency."
San Francisco 49ers wid receiver Deebo Samuel against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sept. 12, 2023. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
ESPN's Jeff Darlington doubts Samuel will have much of a market.
"I don't anticipate that the 49ers will get a lot for Samuel because he is also going to have to need to be extended," Darlington said on SportsCenter, again, per Polacek. "And it's pretty clear that the 49ers will likely have to cut him if they don't trade him, so they really don't hold much leverage here."
The Steelers could have competition from AFC North rivals for Samuel. Adam Schefter thinks the Baltimore Ravens could be after Samuel. The Cincinnati Bengals are another team, but it appears Tee Higgins will be back in Cincy .
"I think it's hard to pinpoint right now where Deebo would go," Schefter said on Monday's episode of the Pat McAfee Show . "I could see him in Pittsburgh, I could see him in Baltimore I could see him in a lot of those places. Any of those AFC North teams make sense."
Given the Cleveland Browns ' quarterback situation, I doubt that Samuel would want to be in Cleveland. The Steelers don't have a great quarterback situation, either, so Pittsburgh could lose out to either the Ravens or Bengals in the Samuel sweepstakes. Sullivan is right that the Steelers' QB situation could prevent a deal, but Samuel reportedly wants to be traded to Pittsburgh .
Samuel, 29, also had a down-turn in his production in 2024, likely furthering the 49ers' decision on trading him. In 15 games in 2024, Samuel caught 51 of 81 targets for 670 yard and three touchdowns. His 44.7 yards per game was a career low, as the entire 49ers offense struggled with injuries and a downturn in results, despite being loaded up for a Super Bowl run in 2024.
The 6-foot, 215-pound wide receiver was the 49ers' second-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft out of South Carolina. In his six NFL seasons, he's caught 334 passes for 4,792 yards and 22 touchdowns. His best season came in 2021, when he caught 77 passes for 1,405 yards and six touchdowns and led the NFL in yards per reception.
Samuel has one season remaining on his contract with the 49ers , and he is due $17.55 million. A trade before June 1 would cause a $31 million dead cap hit for the 49ers in 2025.
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