NFL Odds: Commanders, Chargers Favored To Trade For Deebo Samuel

The San Francisco 49ers weren’t playing on Super Bowl Sunday, but they made headlines early in the day in regard to one of their most popular players. It was announced by multiple outlets that wide receiver Deebo Samuel was granted permission to seek a trade partner, which had been something that Samuel requested immediately after the NFL regular season.

NFL: Deebo Samuel Requests A Trade From The 49ers

It will mark the end of the 29-year-old’s six-year tenure with the team that drafted him. Samuel impressed as a rookie, but had his true breakout season in 2021 when he became a full-time starter. He quickly became one of the top weapons in the league as a dual threat, ranking third in the league in all-purpose yards and scoring 14 total touchdowns on his way to his first and only All-Pro Team appearance.

But his production has dropped off drastically since. Samuel has finished with fewer than 700 receiving yards in two of the past three seasons (892 in the other), and posted a career-low in yards per game in 2024. His 4 touchdowns were the fewest in any season that he played 11 or more games, including his rookie year.

The 49ers have granted Deebo Samuel and his agent Tory Dandy permission to find a trade partner for the wide receiver, Samuel told ESPN. This comes after Samuel asked San Francisco to trade him during the players’ exit meetings after the season.

“It was a hard conversation to… pic.twitter.com/uuEsxgFHIJ

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 9, 2025

With the large contract that he carries, there were rumblings that the 49ers were debating whether the juice was worth the squeeze. But Samuel apparently made it easy for both sides, requesting a trade himself after another disappointing year.

Which Team Will Trade For Deebo Samuel?

Where might he end up playing? The oddsmakers at BetOnline have posted the betting lines for which NFL team is the most likely to trade for Deebo Samuel:

Washington Commanders (+300)

The Commanders were the pleasant surprise of the 2024 NFL season, advancing all the way to the NFC Championship Game after being projected to win just 6.5 games with their rookie quarterback. But they will look to improve their roster this off-season, and have the third-most cap space in the league to be able to do so. One area that they’ll look to bolster is their wide receiver group, which now features Terry McLaurin, a guy who caught 18 passes last year (Luke McCaffrey), and five other guys who haven’t caught a single pass from Jayden Daniels.

Could Deebo be in the mix for Washington? Given the help that they need, it would appear that they’d at least kick the tires on the former All-Pro, and the oddsmakers think they have the best chance of landing him at +300.

Los Angeles Chargers (+400)

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert didn’t have many reliable targets to throw to this past season, and he finished ranked 28th in attempts in 2024 despite his team qualifying for the playoffs. But Los Angeles will look to change that this coming off-season, by adding talent around their talented quarterback.

But what if they miss out on Tee Higgins or Chris Godwin in free agency? They may have to turn to the trade market and start making some phone calls, and they could very well be contacting the 49ers in regard to Deebo Samuel. The Chargers are listed at +400 to be the team that trades for him.

Carolina Panthers (+500)

The Panthers showed some life at the end of last season, posting a respectable 4-5 record over their final 9 games after being the worst team in the league for at least a season and a half. They should be looking to get Bryce Young some help this off-season in order to further his development, and could have a heavy focus on the wide receiver position.

But would they want to bring in a guy who will be 30 years old after next season? They already have Adam Thielen under contract for 2025, and he will be 35 years old by the time the season gets under way. They can certainly afford to allocate some money to the wide receiver position, though, as Carolina has the 25th most-expensive positional unit in the NFL.

It would be a homecoming for Deebo Samuel, who was born some 80 miles southwest of Charlotte. The Panthers are listed at +500 in the sweepstakes.