With Samuel trade, Commanders draw first blood in NFL offseason arms race

After a surprise run to the NFC championship game last season, the Washington Commanders are reloading.

Commanders general manager Adam Peters drew first blood in the NFL’s annual offseason frenzy by adding San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel in a trade over the weekend.

The trade is pending a physical and will not become official until the new league year begins on March 12.

The Commanders gave up only a Day 3 draft pick to acquire the 2021 All-Pro who has taken snaps at receiver and running back. 

In return, Washington will absorb Samuel’s $15.8 million cap hit for 2025, while San Francisco will take a $31 million dead cap hit.

“He’s going to be playing for a contract next year. He wanted out of San Francisco, and now he’s going to be on his best behavior with people he knows and loves in Washington,” Fox Sports’ Skip Bayless said, noting that Peters was part of the San Francisco front office that drafted Samuel. “You’re going to have to deal with Deebo Samuel with Jayden Daniels.”

It’s easy to imagine Samuel in offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury’s shotgun-heavy offense with Daniels, the dynamic dual-threat, taking snaps. 

A monster with the ball in his hands, the 29-year-old Samuel could take handoffs out of the backfield, or, as a pass catcher, present a nightmare matchup for opposing linebackers.

“I think the possibilities are endless,” said ESPN’s Louis Riddick, a former NFL personnel executive and defensive back. “If you’re Kliff Kingsbury right now, you’re going, ‘Look, I’ve got a multi-dimensional threat that I can line up in multiple positions.’ It just makes it all the more explosive overall.”

Wide receiver was a position of need for a Commanders squad that has 28 pending free agents, including several wide receivers. Pro Bowler Terry McLaurin and second-year player Luke McCaffrey are the only receivers under contract for 2025.

“It’s exactly what the doctor ordered for the Commanders,” Bayless noted. “When [Samuel] is right, he is scary.”

But Samuel has not been the same caliber player since his 2021 All-Pro season. Injuries have capped the once-explosive athlete’s production.

Though the South Carolina product has only missed eight games over the last three years, his on-field performance has declined. A shoulder fracture sidelined him for two games in 2023. Rib, calf, oblique and wrist issues hampered his abilities last season, though Samuel missed only two games.

The hybrid player recorded just 670 receiving yards and 136 rushing yards in 15 games last year, his lowest totals since an injury-shortened 2020 campaign.

Despite the injury concerns, the trade is still a splashy move for the Commanders’ front office, which said it’s looking to improve the roster after last year’s surprisingly quick turnaround.

The Commanders are considered a favorite to make a bid for former Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett if the Cleveland Browns grant his trade request. 

With more than $65 million in expected cap space, Washington is also expected to be active in free agency. Peters has said he’ll look to retain contributors like linebacker Bobby Wagner and tight end Zach Ertz, veterans who contributed to the playoff run but hit the open market next week.

“We got a lot of holes again on our roster in terms of players that played really well for us last year, so we’ll be active in free agency because we have to be just to field a team,” Peters said. “But we’ll look to bring a lot of the guys we had back from last year and then build off of that team.”