SANTA CLARA, CA – With the San Francisco 49ers set up for free agency and the NFL Draft last year, there was a subtle but unmistakable feeling that wide receivers were a need for a sleazy roster.
On Saturday, the 49ers agreed to trade Wideout Deevosa Muel Sr. for Washington’s commander in exchange for a fifth pick, and now they’re in a similar situation, but this time there’s nothing despicable.
Samuel’s trade felt inevitable since demanding it at a meeting at the end of the season, but there’s no goodbye to general manager John Lynch, whom Samuel called it one of his favourite draft picks since taking over in 2017.
“There’s a lot of love there,” Lynch told the NFL Combine this week. “There’s a lot of respect there. There’s a lot of shared experiences, so it’s difficult to let go of it. But time comes. If it makes sense for both sides, it’s at least giving you a chance.”
As Samuel is the first time in his career to wear another jersey, the trade receives a wide list of Ninas’ offseason needs. And it might be less than fixing offensive and defensive lines, but it’s not too late.
The 49ers have five receivers: Brandon Iyueke, Jauan Jennings, Ricky Piersall, Jacob Coyneg and Trent Taylor, who caught their pass in 2024 under their 2025 contract.
Within that group, Ayyuk is out of the torn ACL and MCL in his right knee, and Jennings enters the final year of his contract extension last summer, with Pearsoll and Coynegue not being proven towards their second NFL season.
Removed Samuel from that group, and the San Francisco return receiver paired it with 70 yard reception for 1,024 yards and five touchdowns in 2024.
Before any of that happens, the 49ers must handle Aiyuk’s status. After negotiating roller coaster contracts last summer, Ayyuk signed a four-year, $120 million extension before the season, after featuring his own trading demands and almost a handful of transactions.
It’s a No. 1 receiver contract and Aiyuk is expected to handle that role when he returns from a knee injury. Of course, the Niners don’t know when it will be.
Ayyuk suffered a knee injury when he was defeated by the Kansas City Chiefs in October after a late start of the season. Lynch said Ayyuk is “doing well,” but he said he will soon meet with Dr. Neil Ellatrach for an update.
“He’s at work,” Lynch said. “That’s something you have to do, and I’ve always said that real top-end athletes tend to heal at a slightly faster rate. I think that’s happening in Brandon too, but at some point it’s like a big test.
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Divo Samuel’s touchdown last season
Check out all four Deebo Samuel touchdowns with the 49ers last season.
Until Ayyuk returns, Niners hopes Jennings will continue to carry the cargo. Jennings has missed his best NFL season, recording career-highs with receptions (77), yards (975) and touchdowns (6). He finished 10th (2.51) in yards per route and had one drop in addition to what Shahnahan considers to be one of the best blocking wideouts in the league.
“I have proven that I will never give up,” Jennings said. “We’ll snap the first quarter, the fourth quarter, the first snap to the end. JJ never gives up.”
Entering 2025, Jennings is expected to count $42.58 million against the last year cap of the two-year final year he signed in his last offseason. If he wrote a strong encore, he could price his contract from future plans in San Francisco.
This is why Pearsall’s development will become one of the most important Niners storylines of the 2025 season. Pearsoll got off to a slow start as a rookie after hamstring and shoulder injuries cost him most of his training camp, and he was shot in the chest in an attempted robbery in San Francisco before the season.
Pearsall missed the first six games on the reserve/football injury list and didn’t score his first touchdown until week 10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, he flashed the possibility that he became the 31st overall pick in last year’s draft when he scored 18 receptions and score pairs for 247 yards in the final three weeks.
The 49ers hope that the full offseason will position him as he step into his first role and make a pretty second year jump.
“I’m definitely excited to create what’s been interrupted and continue to grow as a player,” Pearsall said in January. “And now I know what to expect. I’m not going to be a rookie anymore so I’m not going to be anything new so I can definitely grow.”
But even if Jennings and Pearsall were built on last season, the 49ers are becoming players in the free agency receiver market and are considering adding more to the draft. The Niners are expected to have 11 picks pending their compensation choice this year. Midmarket veterans like Robert Woods, Darius Slayton and Amari Cooper can make sense based on the cost of the contract.
And while they’re unlikely to use the first pick (11 overall), at receivers, they’re not from areas that could become widespread like Arizona’s Tetaroa McMillan.
Others like Luther’s Burden III in Missouri and Treharis in Mississippi are also an interesting option in Round 2, or could rise slightly to the first round.
Last year, the 49ers signed veterans Chris Conley and Taylor, drafting Pearsall and Coynegue in the first and fourth rounds, respectively.
With Samuel gone, it’s not surprising that the Niners follow similar plans in the coming weeks.
