Getty Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers looks on before the game against the Cleveland Browns at Lambeau Field on December 25, 2021 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
An NFC rival’s newfound problem at wide receiver could prove to be the answer the Green Bay Packers have been searching for ever since they traded away Pro-Bowl wideout Davante Adams last month.
San Francisco 49ers pass catcher Deebo Samuel officially requested a trade out of the Bay Area on Wednesday, April 20. In the interim, the Packers have been identified by multiple league insiders as among the frontrunners to make a play for the 2021 All-Pro wide receiver.
NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler provided an update on the teams that are interested in trading for Samuel on the Friday, April 22 edition of ESPN’s morning show “Get Up.”
“Just got word, heard of a few teams that could have some interest here, okay: the [New York] Jets, [Detroit] Lions, [the] Packers,” Fowler said. “Now those are some sort of early names that could get in the mix here, so [it] could get interesting. We’ll see how far they’re willing to go because this is a guy you have to give up probably a baseline of a first-round pick to acquire him, only to pay him $20-plus million dollars per year. I’m still uncertain how many teams are willing to go that route.”
ALL the latest Packers news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Packers newsletter here!
Packers Logical Trade Partner For Samuel For Several Reasons
gettyWide receiver Deebo Samuel of the San Francisco 49ers runs with the ball against the Minnesota Vikings during the third quarter of a game at Levi’s Stadium on November 28, 2021 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
The Packers have the kind of capital necessary to make a deal for Samuel happen without giving away their entire draft. Green Bay picked up a first- and a second-round pick from the Las Vegas Raiders in the Adams trade, giving the Packers two selections in each round.
Furthermore, when the Packers shipped Adams to the desert, they lost not only their best option at wide receiver — they also lost arguably the best pass catcher in the NFL. To make matters worse, Marquez Valdes-Scantling signed with the Kansas City Chiefs after hitting the unrestricted free agency market in mid-March.
Green Bay has since re-signed both Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, then acquired Sammy Watkins, most recently of the Baltimore Ravens, on a one-year, team-friendly deal worth up to $4 million with incentives. Those are currently the top three wideouts on the Packers’ roster — a position group that doesn’t exactly compute when one considers that Green Bay this offseason extended four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers for three years at more than $50 million annually.
Regardless of whatever new contract Samuel, now 26 years of age, ends up signing, he will play in 2022 for a base salary of just under $4 million. If the Packers are able bring him in for the first-round pick they acquired from the Raiders (No. 22 overall), they would have essentially flipped Adams for Samuel and a second-round pick.
Entering his fourth year in the NFL this September, Samuel would play his fifth and sixth professional seasons through the end of Rodgers’ contract and would still be a year shy of 30 — affording the Packers options to potentially trade or cut him, depending on what circumstances might dictate three years from now.
Packers Usage of Samuel Would Align With His Wishes
GettyWR Deebo Samuel of the San Francisco 49ers dives to score a touchdown in the second quarter against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game at SoFi Stadium on January 30, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Aside from problems with his contract, Samuel is upset with the way Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan has deployed him during his time in San Francisco. Namely, Samuel has no desire to continue on being used as a wide receiver/running back hybrid after carrying the ball 59 times throughout the course of the 2021 regular season and 81 times over his three-year NFL career.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported those details when he first linked the Packers to a potential trade for Samuel on Wednesday.
More than a week ago Deebo Samuel, one of the San Francisco 49ers’ standout weapons, requested a trade. This is something the 49ers have been aware of, and they have wanted to make inroads on a long-term extension with Deebo Samuel, want to make him one of the higher-paid receivers in the NFL.
He has just been, as of now, unwilling to accept or engage in any offer or any discussion. And the reason for that, from my understanding, is he simply wants to be elsewhere.
There are some questions and frustrations from his standpoint about his usage. He is a top receiver, he also takes a lot of hits, [is] used like a running back, [is] put all over the field, and it just does not sound like he is comfortable as of right now with the way he is being used.
I’m not sure, at this point, the 49ers are going to trade him. We’ll see what they end up doing, they don’t have to. But they also don’t pick until late in the second round so potentially, if they want a first-round pick, this would be pretty good way to get one.
The Packers would be unlikely to deploy Samuel in running schemes, even despite the professional ties Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has had to Shanahan throughout the course of his coaching career, and the resulting similarities in their offensive philosophies.
Green Bay already has a higher-end running back duo in Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon, and the team is much more in need of a proven, capable wide receiver than it is a third rushing threat. It would defy logic were the Packers to decide to invest a first-round pick and a potentially massive contract extension in Samuel’s acquisition and subsequent future, and then turn right around and put him at a higher risk of getting hurt by handing him the ball in the backfield.