The San Francisco 49ers finally parted ways with veteran wide receiver Deebo Samuel. On Saturday evening, the 49ers traded Samuel to the Washington Commanders for a fifth-round pick.
It wasn’t a surprise to see Samuel land with the Commanders as FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz reported on Friday that Washington and the Houston Texans were “significantly interested” in trading for the veteran receiver.
That said, with San Francisco granting Samuel’s wish to be traded, the 49ers can continue to work on putting their roster together for the 2025 season.
San Francisco will likely be active in free agency as they try to re-sign some key free agents while bringing new guys into the organization. At the same time, the 49ers could look to part ways with a few other players either through trade or an outright cut due to performance or scheme fit.
Below, we’ll discuss a few players who could be out of San Francisco next after the team finally traded Deebo Samuel. After a disappointing 2024 season, the Niners look to bounce back in 2025.
1. Brandon Aiyuk, Wide Receiver
Even though the 49ers have traded Samuel, that has not stopped the trade rumors from swirling around Brandon Aiyuk. On Saturday, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that San Fran is open to trading Aiyuk, who has an $11.1 million cap hit for 2025.
The 49ers are open to trading WRs Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel, per @rapsheet.
— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) March 1, 2025
Aiyuk, who suffered a torn ACL last October, reportedly turned down a trade to the #Patriots last offseason due to their QB situation. Now that the Pats have Drake Maye, would Aiyuk reconsider?
This isn’t the first time Aiyuk’s name has surfaced in trade rumors this week. Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported on the Scoop City Podcast that teams have inquired about the 26-year-old wide receiver.
Aiyuk had his 2024 season cut short due to a torn ACL and MCL he suffered in Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Heading into the 2024 season, the former first-round pick had his name in trade talks in the offseason, but nothing came of it.
If the 49ers were to trade Aiyuk this offseason, they would need a good backup plan to fill his void as he had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2022 and 2023. Aiyuk’s showing in the 2023 season played a huge part in San Francisco winning the NFC and playing in Super Bowl LVIII.
During that season, the former Arizona State standout had 75 receptions (105 targets) for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns. While Aiyuk set a career-high in receiving yards, he just missed out on breaking his career-high in receptions (78), targets (114), and touchdowns (8), which he did in 2022.
Before getting injured this past season, Aiyuk had 24 receptions (47 targets) for 374 yards and zero touchdowns in seven games.
With this year’s free-agent wide receiver class not the best, the 49ers could capitalize on Aiyuk’s value despite coming off a significant knee injury. He’s one of the better vertical threats in the NFL when healthy.
Over his five-year career, Aiyuk averaged 14.6 yards per reception, which is currently good for sixth among active players. Wide receiver-needy teams like the New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders, and Pittsburgh Steelers have the cap space to absorb Aiyuk’s contract, which he signed last year (four-year, $120 million contract extension).