SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- As San Francisco 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. made the rounds at radio row in New Orleans last week, nothing he said raised as many eyebrows as what he was wearing.

Samuel bounced from interview to interview wearing a No. 11 kelly green Philadelphia Eagles jersey in honor of his close friend A.J. Brown. For 49ers fans, it was jarring to see Samuel, who has never shied away from his dislike of the Eagles, in another team's jersey.

As it turns out, it's a sight that the 49ers and their fans are likely going to have to get used to.

In his end-of-season meeting with coach Kyle Shanahan, Samuel requested that the team trade him elsewhere. And it's a request the Niners are willing to accommodate as they granted Samuel and his agent, Tory Dandy, permission to find a trade partner, Samuel told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Sunday.

"It was a hard conversation to have with Kyle because of the relationship that we have," Samuel said. "But I have to do what's best. I'm more than thankful for the Niners giving me the opportunity of a lifetime but now I think it's best that we find another team."

While Samuel's request isn't a total surprise, it does leave plenty of questions worth answering as the 49ers look at life beyond Deebo. 

Why did Samuel request a trade now?

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.

The 49ers were likely always going to have to choose between Aiyuk and Samuel at some point, and now Samuel is trying to make that decision for them. Samuel, 29, has dropped off since a dominant 2021 season, carries a $15.87 million cap charge and is part of a crowded offense -- which makes parting with the 49ers more logical than it has at any point previously.

In 2022, Samuel requested a trade during a contract dispute but ultimately signed a three-year, $71.5 million extension to stick around. At the time, the 49ers viewed Samuel as the versatile player who could unlock their entire offense. In 2021, he had 1,770 scrimmage yards and 14 touchdowns and helped carry the Niners to a Super Bowl appearance.

Since, Samuel has struggled to replicate that performance, averaging 56 receptions for 731.3 receiving yards and four touchdowns with 40 carries for 197.7 yards and three touchdowns over the past three years.

In particular, 2024 was one of his worst NFL seasons. He finished with 806 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns, both of which were career lows (save for a 2020 season in which he played just seven games). He dealt with calf, wrist, oblique and rib injuries as well as an illness that cost him two games and limited him in others.

Most alarming, Samuel's success as a running back declined. He averaged 3.2 yards per carry, the lowest of his career and a far cry from the 6.2 he averaged in 2021.

Considering those diminishing returns -- and with Aiyuk, Pearsall, Jennings, running back Christian McCaffrey and tight end George Kittle still in the fold -- opportunities for Samuel figure to be harder to come by in 2025. That seemed to already be a problem this past season when Samuel tweeted that he was "not struggling at all just not getting the ball!" in December.

What's more, while general manager John Lynch said in January that the team does not intend to release Samuel, a request for him to take a pay cut could also have been in the offing given his high cap charge.

While it will be a difficult pill for the 49ers to swallow because of their affinity for Samuel and what it's going to cost them against the salary cap, this seems like the right time for both sides to go their separate ways.

What are the financial ramifications of trading Samuel?

This is the tricky part for the 49ers, since they restructured Samuel's contract in September.

If they trade Samuel before June 1, they would absorb a $31.55 million dead money hit on the salary cap. Samuel is also due a $15.4 million option bonus on March 22, which means the 49ers almost certainly need resolution to this situation before then.

Despite Lynch's statement, a release remains possible. If that were to happen, the Niners could use one of two post-June 1 designations (along with the planned release of defensive tackle Javon Hargrave), to split Samuel's cap hit up over the next couple of seasons.

Releasing Samuel after the new league year begins on March 12. but before the option bonus is due 10 days later with the post-June 1 designation, would decrease the dead money hits to $10.75 million in 2025 and around $20 million in 2026. Those hits would be the same if the Niners held on to Samuel past June 1, though they can't trade Samuel before then and designate it as such.

What can the 49ers realistically expect to get for Samuel?

Last offseason, when they were working through contract negotiations with Aiyuk, the Niners fielded offers around the 2024 NFL draft on both of their receivers.

While San Francisco had no intention of giving either Samuel or Aiyuk away, it was willing to listen if a team made the right offer. As it turned out, the type of offers the 49ers received for Aiyuk -- believed to be late in the first round or early in the second -- were the kind of offers they would have considered for Samuel.

Absent that kind of return for Samuel or something in the top part of the first round for Aiyuk, the Niners held on to both players for one more run.

Finding a comp for Samuel is difficult in large part because Samuel isn't a traditional receiver. When the Buffalo Bills traded Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans last April, the Bills received a 2025 second-round pick but attached a 2024 sixth-round selection and a 2025 fifth-round choice to Diggs to make it happen. At the time, Diggs was coming off a 107-catch, 1,183-yard, eight touchdown season.

Because Samuel is coming off a down year and is entering the final year of his contract with other top receivers set to be available in free agency or trade, a Day 3 draft pick and perhaps another late-round pick would probably satisfy the 49ers.

If there isn't much of a trade market, the Niners might have to settle for less unless they package picks with Samuel.

What's the 49ers' plan at receiver if Samuel is traded?

Many of the 49ers' receiver aspirations hinge on Aiyuk's health as he recovers from a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee. Aiyuk suffered that injury in October, so it's conceivable he could be ready for the start of the season, though that's uncertain.

If that happens, Aiyuk, Jennings and Pearsall would be the primary trio of in-house options with Jacob Cowing, Trent Taylor and Terique Owens among the other wideouts remaining on the roster.

Suffice to say, adding to this group will be a necessity in the offseason, whether through free agency, the draft or both. Considering the other big-ticket business that needs doing, namely contract extensions for Kittle and quarterback Brock Purdy, spending big dollars on another receiver seems unlikely.

But a midlevel veteran free agent along the lines of Robert Woods, Darius Slayton or Amari Cooper would make sense for depth and to provide stability until Aiyuk is ready to return. Further, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the 49ers spend at least one draft pick on a receiver and, since Samuel has been a fallback at the position, at running back.

Which teams could be in the mix for Samuel?

Any team acquiring Samuel would be best served using him as a chess piece all over the field, as opposed to a traditional outside receiver. The Washington Commanders come to mind as a viable option; offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury could utilize him as a complement to Terry McLaurin. While McLaurin had 82 catches for 1,096 yards this season, Olamide Zaccheaus was the next-best wideout on the Commanders with 45 receptions and 506 yards.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have scoured the earth for receiver help, too, and should have a long file on Samuel after lengthy trade talks with San Francisco regarding Aiyuk last summer. Samuel could pair with George Pickens to improve that offense.

Another intriguing team is Houston, which could be looking for a middle-of-the-field option alongside Nico Collins. The Texans might be without Tank Dell as he recovers from a bad knee injury, and Diggs is a free agent (and recovering from his own knee injury). -- Jeremy Fowler, national NFL reporter