The 49ers and Deebo Samuel grew apart rather quickly.
It was difficult to pinpoint, exactly, how things soured. But as general manager John Lynch described this week, “At some point, time happens.”
Time has expired on the 49ers’ union with Samuel, the hard-charging, game-changing wide receiver the 49ers selected in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
The 49ers have an agreement in place to trade Samuel to the Washington Commanders for a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, a league source confirmed to NBC Sports Bay Area on Saturday.
The deal cannot become official until March 12, the first day of the new league year.
Samuel requested a trade at the end of the 2024 NFL season. Shortly thereafter, the 49ers told him that they agreed it was best for both sides to move on.
Lynch told NBC Sports Bay Area this week that when the inevitable occurred there would be no hard feelings and only good vibes.
“We’re in a good place with Deebo,” Lynch said, “and he’s done a lot for our organization, so the one thing I can tell you, if he indeed does move on, there would be nothing but love and gratitude for what he’s done for our organization.”
This is the end of an era.
Things fell apart during the 2024 season, when Samuel’s production waned and his frustration grew. Before that, Samuel epitomized this short era of the 49ers, which included four trips to the NFC Championship Game and two Super Bowl appearances in five seasons.
His given name is Tyshun. His father anointed him with the nickname Deebo after the neighborhood bully in the 1995 movie “Friday.”
And on Sundays — or any day of the week the 49ers played the past six seasons — Samuel often played like the bully.
He was a yards-after-catch machine who turned down no hits and forced defensive backs to make business decisions.
And that happened to some of the best in the business, including then-Rams defensive back Jalen Ramsey during a 2022 game. Ramsey made a half-hearted tackle attempt as Samuel scored on a memorable 57-yard touchdown pass from Jimmy Garoppolo during a Monday night game. The play included 51 yards after the catch.
“It was just me and the ball out there,” Samuel said afterward. “I just go out and break some tackles like I do all the time.”
The 2024 season should not be the first thing that comes to mind when reflecting on Samuel’s time with the 49ers.
A player who never got tackled by the first defender in previous seasons, seemingly, rarely broke that first tackle attempt last season. And instead of being a spark plug on the team, he seemed to reflect the overall frustrations of a team that stumbled to a 6-11 record.
He took a swipe at long-snapper Taybor Pepper after Pepper took exception to the aggression Samuel demonstrated toward kicker Jake Moody.
Samuel complained about not getting enough chances, then dropped a critical late-game pass against the Los Angeles Rams that could have kept the 49ers in the NFL playoff hunt for at least another week.
And as the season’s end grew closer, Samuel made it easy on the 49ers. It’s always difficult to part ways with a good player. Samuel might have granted the 49ers a favor when he went public with his trade request on Feb. 3.
It made the parting easy — or, at least, a lot easier.
Former 49ers executive Adam Peters, the Commanders’ general manager, stepped up to play ball with the 49ers and Samuel. He knows as well as anyone how Samuel has the ability to be a catalyst for an offense.
Heck, even 49ers defensive players said they gained inspiration from watching Samuel’s style of play.
Samuel was a unique talent for the 49ers with his ability to catch passes as a wide receiver and run the ball on jet sweeps or when he was lined up in the backfield.
He carried the team down the stretch of the 2021 season and into the postseason. He was a First-Team All-Pro selection. He signed a big-money contract following that season but never came close to repeating that kind of season-long production.
Now, Samuel has a new home.
Time happened.