How the 49ers will replace Deebo Samuel after trade - ESPN

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As the San Francisco 49ers prepared for free agency and the NFL draft last year, there was a subtle but unmistakable sense that wide receiver was a sneaky roster need.

On Saturday, the 49ers agreed to trade wideout Deebo Samuel Sr. to the Washington Commanders in exchange for a fifth-round pick and now find themselves in a similar situation, though there's nothing sneaky about it this time.

Although a Samuel trade felt inevitable since he requested it in his end-of-season meeting, it doesn't make saying goodbye any easier for general manager John Lynch, who called Samuel one of his favorite draft picks since he took over in 2017.

«There's a lot of love there,» Lynch said this week at the NFL combine. «There's a lot of respect there. There's a lot of shared experiences, so to let that go, that's difficult. But time happens, and if it makes sense for both sides, you at least give it a chance.»

With Samuel set to wear a different jersey for the first time in his career, the trade bumps wide receiver up the list of offseason needs for the Niners. And while it might be below fixing the offensive and defensive lines, it's not far behind.

The 49ers have five receivers — Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall, Jacob Cowing and Trent Taylor — who caught a pass for them in 2024 under contract for 2025.

Within that group, Aiyuk is coming off a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee, Jennings is entering the final year of the contract extension he signed last summer, Pearsall and Cowing are unproven heading into their second NFL seasons and Taylor spent most of last year on the practice squad.

Remove Samuel from that group and San Francisco's returning receivers combined for 70 receptions for 1,024 yards and