Deebo Samuel no longer wants to be a 49er. The reason the All-Pro wide receiver asked for a trade isn't known, but several reports have said that Samuel's frustration is with his usage and not the amount of money the 49ers may or may not be offering him in a contract extension.
Since Samuel told ESPN's Jeff Darlington about his trade request, the future of the star wide receiver has been the most talked-about story in the NFL.
But no one knows the reason for Samuel's discontent other than the wide receiver, his agent, and the 49ers' brass. A fact Samuel appeared to hint at when he fired off a cryptic tweet Wednesday.
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On Monday, 49ers general manager John Lynch made it pretty clear that he had no intention of acquiescing to Samuel's request.
“I can't ever imagine wanting to move on from Deebo," Lynch said. "You put yourself through the exercises of, even though we don't have a first-round pick, you have to be thorough in this process and prepare for everything. And so, you go through and do that, and he's just too good of a player. You think of 2019, the 36th pick, to come up with someone like Deebo who, to me, has just been a game-changing player for our franchise."
Lynch went on to say he "can't envision a scenario" in which the 49ers trade Samuel.
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With the 49ers not owning a first-round pick this year and the 2022 NFL Draft one day away, Thursday would seem to be the logical time for Lynch to orchestrate a trade if he was planning on fulfilling the request.
The New York Jets, who came in second in the Tyreek Hill trade sweepstakes, would seem to be the logical trade partner. New York has two first-round picks. The No. 10 overall pick and either a future first or a 2022 second would serve as a solid framework for the deal.
It's more likely than not that Samuel remains a 49er, but anything is possible come draft night.