The San Francisco 49ers contradicted the words of general manager John Lynch when they granted Deebo Samuel permission to find a trade partner, but they had financial motivation for doing so. Samuel is due a $15.

Samuel's request is a way of getting ahead of a divorce that has felt inevitable since last offseason when the 49ers drafted receiver Ricky Pearsall No. 31 overall and signed wideouts Jauan Jennings and Brandon Aiyuk to contract extensions.

There was a possibility of Samuel being traded last offseason while receiver Brandon Aiyuk's future with the franchise appeared cloudy. Aiyuk ended up signing a four-year extension with the 49ers, while Samuel's contract was restructured to free up cap space.