Deebo Samuel wants the San Francisco 49ers to trade him, and tight end George Kittle thinks his longtime teammate is irreplaceable. During an interview with USA Today on Wednesday, Kittle reacted to the 49ers granting Samuel permission to talk to teams that might be interested in acquiring him. He took the news hard.

After Samuel’s reported trade request, many speculated that the 49ers might not receive much interest in the 29-year-old receiver who is coming off a down 2024 NFL season and eventually will release him with a post-June-1 designation to avoid $31.5 million in dead money for the 2025 season.