The San Francisco 49ers had to be taken a little aback when they learned that Deebo Samuel was requesting a trade. Samuel made his request before the 2022 NFL Draft, which gave the front office some time to field offers with draft compensation.

The New York Jets were one team linked to the 49ers a lot, but ultimately, no deal got done. Trade proposals were shared, but nothing caught San Francisco’s attention enough to part ways with their All-Pro wide receiver.

Samuel showed that he is one of the most physically gifted and talented wide receivers in the NFL last season. He was turned into a dual-threat by head coach Kyle Shanahan, as Samuel took more reps at running back down the stretch of the season than he did at wide receiver.

That kind of versatility was key to the 49ers’ offense finding success. General manager John Lynch doesn’t want to move on from him and said just as much in a recent Q&A session.

“We all know what we have,” Lynch said during a Q&A session at the annual Dwight Clark Legacy Series. “Some things have transpired. We’ll remain consistent that the conversations that we have stay private because I think they deserve to be. I think we’ll be fine there, though. And I’m excited to have Deebo a part of us moving forward.”

Trey Lance, who is expected to take over as the starting quarterback this season, is certainly happy about that. Stepping into a starting role is tough enough, but it would have been made that much more difficult to do it without his No. 1 receiver.

Lynch doubled down on his commitment to Samuel being with the 49ers this season, making a bold declaration.

“Well, we haven’t traded him. I’ve used the word ‘fool.’ I’d be a fool to trade him,” Lynch said. “And, so, yes. He’ll be a part of the 49ers.”

That is certainly music to the ears of 49ers fans. Now, all that is left is for Lynch to put his money where his mouth is, literally. Samuel is looking to get paid and San Francisco will have to open up the checkbook to keep him happy.

Seeing how well he performed last season and how important of a piece to the offense he is, it is a no-brainer to keep Deebo Samuel in town. The 49ers have Super Bowl aspirations and achieving that goal will be easier with the versatile South Carolina product in the fold.