The Pittsburgh Steelers have been connected to San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel via trade — ever since a report from Samuel’s camp surfaced on February 10.
The questions are; how much would it cost to trade for Samuel, and could the Steelers just wait out his eventual release instead?
On February 18, CBS Sports analyst Tyler Sullivan shed some light on what a Samuel trade return might look like, proposing three hypothetical Niners deals with three potential suitors. First on Sullivan’s list was Pittsburgh, and below was his projected offer:
- Steelers get WR Deebo Samuel.
- 49ers get Pittsburgh’s 2025 fourth-round pick (No. 122 overall).
“It’s no secret the Steelers are in the market for a wide receiver,” Sullivan wrote, explaining his trade proposal. “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?” He asked.
Continuing: “As for the fourth-round pick compensation, ESPN surmised that a Day 3 pick may be what Samuel ultimately fetches on the trade market. Getting a selection just outside the top 100 would be a solid return for San Francisco.”
Sullivan did note that “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.”
But that would contradict the SI on Steelers report that Samuel would “absolutely” engage in trade talks with the Steelers.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell Details Deebo Samuel’s Strength & Weaknesses Amid Steelers Trade Rumors
ESPN staff writer Bill Barnwell discussed all potentially available wide receivers on February 17, and he listed Samuel as a trade candidate rather than a cut candidate for now.
“Samuel, who has requested that the 49ers trade him, is the best yards-after-catch generator of his generation,” Barnwell noted. “From 2021 to 2024, he generated 903 yards after catch over expectation [YACOE]. The only other player with more is Ja’Marr Chase, who generated 11 more YACOE but needed 151 more catches to do so. The No. 3 player on that list, George Kittle, has 585 YACOE.”
“If you’ve watched any 49ers games over the past few years, you’ve seen Samuel bursting through tackles or running away from defenders in the open field,” the long-time NFL writer went on. “He’s one of the league’s most difficult players to bring down. The problem is most everything else.”
“Samuel ranked 137th in catch score while dropping four of his 80 targets on the season,” Barnwell continued, detailing his 2024 campaign. “After a hot start, he seemed to fade as the year went along; he failed to top 25 receiving yards in six of his final seven games… And while Samuel generated extra value in the past as a wildly efficient running back, he averaged only 3.1 yards per carry across his 42 rush attempts in 2024, less than half of his prior career mark of 6.3.”
Broncos & Patriots Could Represent Steelers’ Top Competition for 49ers WR Deebo Samuel
Although the entire list of potential suitors is unclear — as is whether or not anyone is willing to trade for Samuel when he could be released — Sullivan included the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots as the Steelers’ top competition for the San Francisco playmaker.
His projected offer for the Broncos was extremely similar to Pittsburgh’s, at pick No. 120, while his Patriots trade pitch was the best of all.
Sullivan proposed New England’s 2025 fourth, or pick No. 107, for Samuel. That’s exactly 15 picks higher than the Steelers’ hypothetical offer and 13 picks ahead of Denver.
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