Deebo Samuel reportedly told 49ers not to make him an offer

If dual-threat talent and All-Pro selection Deebo Samuel is to be believed, only he, the San Francisco 49ers and his agent "know the truth" about his reported request to be traded by the organization that surfaced eight days before the 2022 NFL Draft gets underway this coming Thursday night. 

Whether or not Samuel "is uncomfortable with how he was used in Kyle Shanahan's offense in 2021" or merely no longer wants to live in California is unclear heading into the weekend, but a new twist to the story has emerged. 

Per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone, a video that seems to feature Samuel saying he hasn't received any contract offer from the club has recently circulated online. Bonilla added that NFL Network's Ian Rapoport offered an update on the situation during a Friday appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" and suggested the 26-year-old in the final year of his rookie contract isn't all that interested in hearing from the 49ers this spring. 

"First of all, I have not corroborated that this is real," Rapoport said of the questioned video. "I believe it is. But I want to talk on the assumption that it is real, and that the people in the video are who they appear to be because otherwise, this doesn't make any sense.

"I would say that is correct that Deebo Samuel has not received an offer from the 49ers. From my understanding, he basically told them, 'I want to be traded. Don't make an offer.' ... I don't think this is [about the money].

"Now, if he had an offer in hand of $25 million a year, might it make it more difficult to have started this whole thing? Yeah. I think, had the 49ers made an offer initially, he'd have a lot more to think about. They didn't. So he does not have an offer. He told them, 'Don't make an offer. I want to be traded.' So I think all of that was accurate."

$25 million per year is oddly specific considering it matches the number mentioned in a previous report regarding Samuel's wishes for an extension.