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San Francisco 49ers Make Big Move with Deebo Samuel’s Contract—Will This Finally Secure His Future?

The San Francisco 49ers made a major move in terms of Deebo Samuel’s contract, though perhaps not the one the wide receiver had been hoping for before Week 1. That move may need to wait.

san francisco 49ers deebo samuel
San Francisco 49ers wideout Deebo Samuel in action during Super Bowl LVIII. Credit: Elsa/Getty Images

Tuesday, mere hours after the 49ers signed stalwart All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams to a long-term contract extension, and nearly a week after Brandon Aiyuk’s hold-in resulted in a contract extension, San Francisco restructured Samuel’s current deal.

According to a report from ESPN’s Field Yates, the restructure frees up approximately $16.4 million in cap space.

San Francisco 49ers, John Lynch Reportedly Open Massive Amount of Cap Space

trent williams deebo samuel san francisco 49ers
Nov 12, 2023; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel (19) and tackle Trent Williams (71) celebrate a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the third quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-USA TODAY Sports

Before Tuesday’s moves — Samuel’s restructure, and Williams’ extension, the 49ers were staring down the barrel at needing to potentially find a way to make Samuel whole and happy with a new long-term contract and eventually at season’s end make Brock Burdy one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the sport, with limited cap space.

However, after moving money around on Samuel’s del, and inking Williams’ extension worth approximately $82.6 million over the next three years, San Francisco currently is projected to have in the neighborhood of $50.4 million in spending flexibility in 2024 and just over $60 million in 2025, according to Spotrac.

San Francisco 49ers - John Lynch
Jan 28, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch hugs a player looks on before the NFC Championship football game against the Detroit Lions at Levi’s Stadium. | Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox, USA TODAY Sports

Tuesday’s moves make it more palatable for general manager John Lynch and the 49ers to be able to fit a Purdy extension under the cap, once he is eligible for the first time after this season, and potentially even sign Samuel to the long-term contract he’s been seeking all offseason.

Suddenly, with the additional spending flexibility over the next two seasons, a colossal new contract for Purdy and an eventual extension for Samuel don’t seem so prohibitive towards keeping the 49ers’ explosive collection of talent on both sides of the football together for the foreseeable future.

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Avatar of Matt Lombardo, Staff Writer

About Matt Lombardo, Staff Writer

Matt Lombardo is a seasoned NFL reporter, with over 12 years of experience covering the league. In addition to his work at Gridiron Heroics, Lombardo covers the NFL for Heavy.com, is an on air sports contributor for FOX29 Philadelphia, and writes an NFL Substack "Between The Hashmarks." Lombardo is the former Senior NFL Insider of FanBuzz, and prior to taking that role was a national NFL reporter at FanSided where he hosted a weekly podcast "The Matt Lombardo Show." A former beat reporter for NJ Advance Media (Parent company of NJ.com and the Newark Star Ledger), Lombardo covered the Philadelphia Eagles from 2011 through the 2017 season before moving to cover the New York Giants for the Star Ledger for two seasons from 2018 through 2020. During his career to date, Lombardo has covered five Super Bowls, four NFL Drafts, multiple NFL Combines, and has had his work frequently featured in publications such as Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, and more. In addition to his journalism work, Lombardo is a strong on air presence and is a former sports talk radio host on 97.5 FM The Fanatic, Philadelphia's first FM Sports Station and the radio home of the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia Flyers.

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