The San Francisco 49ers have overhauled their receiver room in the early stages of the offseason. Deebo Samuel was traded to the Washington Commanders and Brandon Aiyuk is drawing interest from several teams despite signing a four-year, $120 million contract extension last summer.
These moves are being made to prepare for a potential contract extension for Brock Purdy and will leave San Francisco looking to get younger and cheaper at the receiver position. But while they made a cost-conscious signing to fix the problem this week, the possibility of a suspension could leave the 49ers back where they started.
New 49ers Receiver Demarcus Robinson Facing Suspension to Begin 2025 Season
The 49ers and Demarcus Robinson agreed to a two-year deal worth $9.5 million on Tuesday, but his availability for the start of next season could be in jeopardy. Robinson was arrested for a DUI in November while playing for the Los Angeles Rams and formally charged in January, making him subject to the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
Robinson was never punished by the Rams for the incident but general manager Les Snead hinted that a suspension could be coming when he addressed reporters at the scouting combine earlier this month.
“He does have some things that he’s gotta work through legally [this offseason] that could prevent play time in the future,” Snead said via Adam Grosbard of the LA Daily News. “So that’s the reality. We appreciate what he’s done.”
While Snead didn’t directly say Robinson’s time with the Rams was over, his comments sounded like he was ready to move on. Robinson caught 31 passes for 505 yards and a career-high seven touchdowns last season but his uncertain availability and his age (he’ll turn 31 in September), may have scared some teams away in free agency.
The 49ers weren’t one of those teams and there could be some logic behind hit. The NFL has moved notoriously slow to punish players in DUI cases, waiting for the legal process to play out over taking immediate action. Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison was arrested last July and later charged with DUI but has not been suspended as his case is pending.
San Francisco also has enough weapons to get by if Robinson misses the start of next season. Aiyuk should be ready to return from a torn ACL suffered last October and 2024 first-round pick Ricky Pearsall was impressive after catching 31 passes for 400 yards and three touchdowns after missing the first six games in the season after being shot in the chest last September.
With Jauan Jennings also breaking out for 77 catches for 975 yards and six touchdowns last season, Robinson wasn’t counted on for a top role, which could make dealing with a suspension easier and a big reason why he ended up in San Francisco.