First, Davante Adams.
Now, Tyreek Hill.
At some point closer to the opening of training camp, it should be Deebo Samuel’s turn.
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The first week of the new league year has proven, once again, top-flight NFL wide receivers get paid huge sums of money.
Keeping those receivers is not for every team. Even before the Green Bay Packers sent Adams to Las Vegas and the Kansas City Chiefs shipped Hill to Miami, the Dallas Cowboys found Amari Cooper way too expensive. He was shipped to Cleveland.
This is the first offseason in which the 49ers and Samuel are allowed to enter into a new contract since he entered the NFL in 2019 as a second-round draft pick. The 49ers got him as a bargain for three seasons. Those days are over.
Samuel fully emerged as a star player in 2021 as a 1,000-yard receiver and a punishing runner lined up in the backfield when the game mattered most. Nobody in the NFL does what he does — playing a position he calls “wide back.”
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General manager John Lynch spoke after the season about the looming contract negotiations with such a unique player.
“There’s some interesting dynamics with Deebo playing multiple positions, but the bottom line, he’s an excellent football player,” Lynch said on Feb. 1. “And so, I’m sure that we’ll find a way to get that done, and it’s been budgeted for.”
The 49ers might want to re-check their math.
The Raiders signed Adams to a five-year, $140 million contract last week as part of the trade from the Packers.
On Wednesday, the Dolphins awarded Hill with a three-year extension with $75 million of new money, Tom Pelisserio of the NFL Network reported.
Miami also sent the Chiefs five draft picks, including the 2022 first-rounder that was acquired from the 49ers a year ago in the deal that enabled San Francisco to move up to No. 3 overall to select quarterback Trey Lance in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Hill is a six-year veteran who averaged 1,200 yards receiving over the past five seasons. New Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel will unquestionably find infinite ways to utilize one of the fastest players in the NFL.
So what does this mean for Samuel?
With his physical nature of play, it seems illogical he would step on the field again without a new contract. He is scheduled to make approximately $4 million in 2022, which is approximately five or six times less than what he is likely to receive with his next deal.
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If Samuel follows the patterns of tight end George Kittle and linebacker Fred Warner, he will take part in the 49ers’ offseason program to receive a payday around the opening of training camp that makes him among the highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL.
Samuel had his breakout season in 2021, as he was chosen to the AP All-Pro first-team, along with Adams and Cooper Kupp.
As more wide receivers around the NFL are cashing in, it has become more clear the wide back will be joining them at some point in the coming months.