49ers tight end George Kittle knows about negotiating with the 49ers front office. Just two offseasons ago he was eligible for an extension and earned one that made him the highest-paid tight end in league history. Now his teammate Deebo Samuel is working through the ebbs and flows of a contract negotiation, but threw a wrench into the mix when he requested a trade a week before the draft.
There are reported factors at play beyond money for Samuel which complicate his long-term extension, but Kittle is still optimistic the All-Pro wide receiver will suit up in red and gold next year.
In an episode of Bussin With the Boys, a podcast with Titans offensive lineman Taylor Lewan and linebacker Will Compton, Kittle talked about the Samuel extension. He made it clear he has no inside knowledge on the negotiations and hasn’t talked to Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch or Samuel.
“What’s gonna happen, and this is me not knowing anything, Deebo’s got another year on his contract left regardless, right? Assuming he’s not gonna sit out, that’s a lot of money,” Kittle said. “So he’s either gonna play this year as a Niner with one year left on his deal, or he’s gonna get a contract extension. At this point you can’t even trade him. What’re you gonna trade him for, a first-round pick in next year’s draft? That doesn’t help us this year. Like, come on, you can’t trade for future picks. Not right now. So that window’s kind of closed.”
The ability to trade Samuel mostly went out the window after the Jets used the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s draft instead of including it in a deal for the 49ers receiver. San Francisco didn’t want to trade their Swiss Army knife and per reports were never tantalized with a compelling offer. They were going to require a king’s ransom and no team was willing to come to the table to get a deal done.
If that was the case in April, it’s hard to imagine a team unloading adequate assets that would help the 49ers…
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