Packers: Deebo Samuel to Green Bay is not impossible

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, San Francisco 49ers do-it-all wide receiver Deebo Samuel has requested a trade from the team.

Rapoport is reporting that Samuel has requested a trade because Samuel doe not like how he is being used. There is some worry about taking big hits and longevity. The All-Pro wants to be used as a true No. 1 WR.

So, there are plenty of receiver-needy teams sitting out there as we sit just eight days away from the 2022 NFL Draft. The Green Bay Packers are one of them.

Right off the bat, it’s important to note that the 49ers and Packers have been rivals in the NFC for a long, long time. For decades. They have renewed their rivalry over the past four seasons, splitting six matchups.

Good teams don’t trade good players to other good teams. That is a fact. But if there is a team out there that has the ammunition to swing a big trade, it is the Packers.

Green Bay has two first-round picks and four top-60 picks. Also, money is not the central problem for Deebo Samuel, according to Rapoport.

That is important because Samuel is part of the group of young receivers that includes A.J. Brown, D.K. Metcalf, and Terry McLaurin who are all looking for a new, big contract. Soon, Samuel will want that mega-deal.

Green Bay was able to offer former star WR Davante Adams a contract with an annual value of $25-$30 million, so offering that to Samuel wouldn’t be too crazy.

But with multiple receivers on one-year deals and possibly multiple rookie receivers coming in after the draft, Green Bay needs more stability and talent at that position. That’s what Samuel brings.

Would GM Brian Gutekunst and Co. consider sending multiple picks, including one of their first-rounders, to San Francisco for Samuel, who would essentially be a one-year rental?

Or Gutekunst might be more comfortable drafting a couple receivers and developing them, using some of that roughly $15 million in cap space to sign a free agent like a Julio Jones, or creating a smaller trade package for an impact WR like Tyler Lockett.

If they were to find the right deal and San Francisco accepted it, a WR corps of Deebo Samuel, Sammy Watkins, Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, a first-round pick, and Amari Rodgers sounds very dangerous.

Especially with Aaron Rodgers throwing the football and Matt LaFleur calling plays.

LaFleur and Kyle Shanahan run similar systems, but LaFleur would utilize Samuel’s pass-catching abilities more than his run-game abilities. If Deebo wants to be a true receiver, LaFleur and Rodgers will make that happen.

Samuel has proven that he can be just that. He had over 1,400 receiving yards last season.

A trade for Samuel is unlikely because San Francisco and Green Bay are massive rivals. They are always Super Bowl contenders at the same time it seems like.

But they are in separate divisions. Shanahan and LaFleur are close friends that run similar offensive systems.

A deal is unlikely but not impossible. Green Bay has the ammo for a trade, but would Deebo accept the long-term offer from the Packers that the team offered Davante Adams? It’s possible.