Not everyone is ready to count out the Green Bay Packers as potential trade suitors for San Francisco 49ers star receiver Deebo Samuel.
NFL reporter Mike Tannenbaum — a former executive for both the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets — made the case that the Packers were the best-suited team to land Samuel during an April 21 segment on ESPN’s Get Up. He put himself in the shoes of Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst and argued no receiver in the draft is going to be able to give them what Samuel could.
Here’s what Tannenbaum said when Mike Greenberg brought up the possibility of the Packers making an “aggressive move” for Samuel:
Completely agree. They’re in the ultimate win-now mode, Greeny, so to me, they didn’t want to lose Davante Adams. I give up at least one of those first-round picks (and) something else to go get him because every I wake up as running the Green Bay Packers, I’m thinking, ‘Do I beat Tampa? Do I beat the Rams? What do I do to help myself there? Deebo Samuel probably gets us over the hump.’ And as we’ve talked about on this show — and this bears repeating Greeny — the most catches a rookie receiver has ever had with Aaron Rodgers is 38, so it’s going to take a minute for whoever they draft to get up to speed with Aaron Rodgers, so clearly they would be better off with him.
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Samuel Seemingly Confirms Trade Request
Trade speculation regarding Samuel heated up on April 20 when ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported the disgruntled receiver had told him he had requested a trade out of San Francisco. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport later added that Samuel had requested his trade “more than a week ago” and that the 49ers have been well aware of his discontent “for a while.”
Samuel also seemingly backed up their respective reports by liking their tweets about the situation from his personal Twitter account — something that cannot be dismissed in a modern world where professional athletes frequently use their social media accounts to convey feelings and messages about a situation without direct comment.
Now, it should be noted that Connor Hughes of The Athletic says he continues to hear the 49ers have “zero intention” of trading Samuel and would likely only start listening if teams got “crazy” with their offers, as the Dolphins did to land Tyreek Hill. At the same time,
Would 49ers Avoid Trading With Packers?
Now, the Packers might be one of the few teams with both a glaring need at receiver and enough draft capital to make a compelling offer for Samuel, but there’s also reason to think the 49ers would be unwilling to trade their top receiver to one of their biggest obstacles in the NFC. While the two sides aren’t divisional rivals, they have met twice in the playoffs over the past three seasons with Green Bay faltering both times. The last thing the 49ers need is to help a fellow NFC powerhouse turn the tables.
The rivalry is also present between Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and his former boss/friend Kyle Shanahan. Their beef — if you can even call it that — has been a bit exaggerated ever since Shanahan’s unenthusiastic handshake with LaFleur following his 49ers’ loss to the Packers during the 2021 regular season, but even friends coaching at such a high level are bound to retain a competitive spirit between them. Just because Shanahan is happy for LaFleur’s success doesn’t mean he wants to help it come easier.
Packers Picked to Make ‘Aggressive Move’ for Disgruntled WR