The San Francisco 49ers wide receiver overhaul is underway following Saturday’s trade with the Washington Commanders. The 49ers are sending Deebo Samuel to the Commanders in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round draft pick.
Samuel has seemingly been on the way out of San Francisco since the offseason began. He not only requested a trade, but the 49ers seemed happy to oblige the request and looked prepared to move on from him one way or another. On Saturday, it happened.
It is also a somewhat costly move for them.
Even though the Commanders are paying all of Samuel’s $17 million salary for the 2025 season, the 49ers are going to be on the hook for a $31 million dead cap number, with all of it to be absorbed this season.
Even though the 49ers still have plenty of salary cap room to work with this offseason, that dead money hit will put a big dent into their offseason plans.
The alternative to that would have been simply releasing Samuel before he was due a $15 million roster bonus on March 22 with a post-June 1 designation. That would have allowed the 49ers to spread the dead cap number over two seasons, with only $10 million on the books for this season and more than $20 million on the books next season.
The 49ers might have been thinking that it is better to get the dead-money hit out of the way all at once and not have to worry about anything next season, especially when quarterback Brock Purdy will likely be playing under a new and far more expensive contract than he currently is.
Either way, it is far from an ideal situation for the 49ers.
Not only are they losing a player that has been a key part of their offense over the past five years, but they received an extremely small return and are now on the hook for a gigantic cap number that is being occupied by nobody this season. They also still have to find a replacement for Samuel, while also deciding if they are going to keep Brandon Aiyuk or seriously entertain the trade calls they have reportedly received on him.
