Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
The San Francisco 49ers aren’t looking to make wholesale changes after reaching the Super Bowl last season, but they are reportedly looking to move on from one of their best receivers.

According to the NFL Notifications account on Twitter, X, the team has been entertaining trade talks for Deebo Samuel as they are looking to proceed with Brandon Aiyuk and rookie Ricky Pearsall as their main receiving options.

Aiyuk hasn’t cut a happy figure since the Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in February and has suggested that he wants out.

The Niners haven’t been able to get him to agree on a new deal, with recent reports claiming he was keen on a contract similar to the one the Detroit Lions handed Amon-Ra St. Brown earlier this offseason.

Still, Aiyuk was the most productive receiver on the roster in 2023, and there are high hopes for Pearsall.

The 49ers Discussed Trades For Deebo Samuel At The Draft

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported after April’s NFL Draft that the team discussed potential trades for Deebo Samuel on Day 2 but let other franchises know they wouldn’t move him around two hours before the event began.

Curiously enough, they ended up selecting Pearsall, a wideout expected to go in the second round, with their No. 31 pick.

“The 49ers did discuss Deebo Samuel with teams on Day 2 of the draft, but a source said definitively two hours before the second round that San Francisco ‘isn’t moving him,’” Fowler wrote. “The intrigue deepened when San Francisco took Florida wideout Ricky Pearsall — a player most teams had pegged as a second-round pick — at No. 31.”

Samuel made 60 receptions for 892 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 15 games for San Francisco last season. While he’s likely to be a welcome addition on most rosters, he has only registered over 1,000 receiving yards in one season (2021) since entering the NFL.