San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch hopes to change Deebo Samuel's mind over the playmaker's trade request that has put a number of other NFL teams on red alert.
The Niners, 11/2 to win the NFC Championship, want to build around second-year quarterback Trey Lance and not weaken the supporting cast around their 2021 No.3 pick just as he prepares to take on the starter's role.
'Too good' to lose
Lynch said Samuel, who caught a career-high 77 passes for 1,405 yards and six touchdowns while adding another 365 rushing yards and eight scores on 59 carries during the 2021 campaign, is "just too good of a player" to give up without a fight.
The exact nature of Samuel's unhappiness with the NFC West team remains a source of conjecture.
Initial speculation that he desired a new contract to match some of the other lucrative deals dished out to top wide receivers was soon supplanted by talk of the player wanting a change of role within Kyle Shanahan's offense.
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Tight-lipped
Lynch declined to get into the details when asked multiple times by reporters at his Monday pre-draft press conference, but the general manager did try to strike a positive note about the situation.
"We pride ourselves on our communication with our players," Lynch said, via nfl.com.
"This is no different. I'm confident we can find the solutions for whatever is going on.
"I can't ever imagine wanting to move on from Deebo - you put yourself through the exercises of even though we don't have a first-round pick, you have to be thorough in this process and prepare for everything, and as you go through and do that.
"He's just too good of a player."
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