San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch - 'Can't ever imagine wanting to move on from' Deebo Samuel

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch was in no hurry to field questions about receiver Deebo Samuel in his pre-draft media availability Monday.

Before opening the nearly 30-minute session to queries, Lynch spent about five and a half of those minutes thanking his staff for the hard work they've put in on the upcoming NFL draft and discussing the draft itself. Mixed in was a brief mention of Samuel, but only to say that he didn't intend to divulge details on the situation.

Eventually, the inquiries came in bunches and while Lynch didn't reveal why Samuel has requested a trade, any details on negotiations or how things reached this point, he did make it clear the Niners have little desire to trade the star receiver/running back.

«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. So, you go through it and do that. He's just too good of a player… We've got nothing but love for him and nothing but appreciation for what he's brought but you just don't let guys like that walk. So, I can't envision a scenario where we would (trade him).»

Samuel told ESPN's Jeff Darlington last week that he has requested a trade and subsequent reports noted that Samuel has refused to engage the Niners on a potential contract extension. Samuel is entering the final year of his rookie contract, a deal that comes with a cap number of just under $5 million for 2022.

Lynch acknowledged the reports that Samuel has requested a trade but declined to add much else, noting it's «not productive» to discuss particulars of contract negotiations. Lynch did,