Who Should I Start? Marvin Jones or Deebo Samuel

Wednesday, October 25, 11:01 AM

Detroit Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. announced on Tuesday that he was stepping away from the team due to personal family matters. Jones was then released by the team. "To be brief, I am stepping away from the team to take care of personal family matters," Jones wrote in part in an Instagram post. "Although this was no easy decision, I cannot be the person/player that I need to be for this team as well as tend to my family from afar." The veteran pass-catcher did not travel with the team to Baltimore in Week 7 and had very little production to begin the season, catching five passes for 35 yards on 10 targets. The 33-year-old didn't mention anything about retirement. The former fifth-rounder has played in 151 career games and has 547 catches for 7,421 yards and 58 touchdowns. With Jones out of the picture, Kalif Raymond could have a bigger role as wideout depth in Detroit.

Wednesday, May 1, 2:04 PM

The San Francisco 49ers were engaged in trade talks involving wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel leading up to the draft, but the team elected not to trade either of their star receivers, with all signs pointing toward both being on the 2024 roster. Aiyuk is entering the final year of his rookie deal, and the assumption was that he'd be the odd man out after the team paid Samuel and other star players. Samuel still has two years left on the deal he signed before the 2022 season. San Fran has been to at least the NFC Championship game in four of the last five seasons, and losing Aiyuk or Samuel would almost certainly make the team worse in 2024. The 49ers can afford to keep both this year, but an Aiyuk extension would likely reduce his $14.124 million salary cap number for 2024. Samuel's fantasy value would have likely taken a hit with a move out of the Bay Area.