In hindsight, the 49ers should have traded Samuel a year ago instead of using his contract to create salary cap space. Now there’s a $15.4 million bonus due on March 22 and a potential “dead money” vacuum of more than $31 million depending on when he’s traded or released.

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.