Deebo Samuel's San Francisco 49ers career is on borrowed time after their major first-round draft decision

It seems the somewhat surprising selection of Ricky Pearsall in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft will be followed by a trade of a superstar wide receiver.

In the wake of taking Florida wideout Pearsall 31st overall, 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan were peppered with questions about what the pick meant for the futures of Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel, their All-Pro receivers who have been the subject of trade speculation in the lead up to the draft.

Most of the trade talk had swirled around Aiyuk as the Niners attempt to sign him to a long-term extension after a second successive 1,000-yard season, but The San Francisco Chronicle's Mike Silver posted on X (formerly Twitter) that it is Samuel who is likely to be traded.

It was reported ahead of the first round by Dianna Russini of The Athletic that the 49ers had been involved in conversations with teams about a move up the board with both Aiyuk and Samuel discussed as potential makeweights.

Lynch and Shanahan batted off questions about the availability of both receivers, while repeating a familiar line.

"Why is it always us? I don't know," Lynch joked."I know that we're continuing to have positive talks with B.A. and we are really efforting to get something done with him. And we're excited about continuing down that path. And Brandon being a part of this team.

"Deebo is a part of this team and a big part of this team. So, like I said, we feel great about that group and we feel like we just made it better with another really good addition to it who complements the group real well."

But asked if they were closing the door on a trade of either receiver, Lynch replied: "Never close the door on a trade. I mean, we'll always listen and we have. But we like our group as it stands."

Not only has the door remained open, but it appears Samuel will now head through it. Silver had previously reported Samuel had received assurances he would not be traded this offseason, but those assurances now look to have been removed.

Samuel signed a three-year, $71.55 million contract in 2022 after an outstanding 2021 season. The 2019 second-round pick has served as a devastating and versatile playmaker throughout his time with the 49ers, his ability to produce as a receiver and out of the backfield making him one of the most dynamic weapons in the league when healthy.

Since that 2021 season, in which he broke the NFL for rushing touchdowns by a wide receiver in a single year with eight, Samuel has struggled to recapture the same form and continued to have durability issues. Samuel has never played a full regular season in his NFL career, with his bruising style of play exacerbating the risk of injury.

Though Samuel is arguably viewed as a more critical part of the 49ers' offensive engine, it is Aiyuk who has emerged as more important for quarterback Brock Purdy. With the Niners seemingly deciding they can't afford to have two of the highest-paid receivers in the league on the roster in Purdy's final cheap year, it isn't exactly a surprise they look to have settled on Aiyuk as the one to keep.