At this point in Deebo Samuel’s career, the 49ers probably would be better off without him.

He’s not an effective running back anymore. He can’t beat cornerbacks who cover him man to man. And when he does find himself open, he often drops the ball. He used to be the go-to guy in the 49ers’ offense. Now, that’s George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey when he’s healthy.

By the end of the season, Samuel was the third-best wide receiver on the roster after Jauan Jennings and rookie Ricky Pearsall. When Brandon Aiyuk comes back from a knee injury next season, Samuel will be the fourth-best wide receiver on the roster, and his salary cap number will be $15.87 million. He’s an obvious cut or trade candidate.

But just before last season started, the 49ers restructured Samuel’s contract to create $16.4 million in cap space. The downside of this move is that it made cutting or trading Samuel much more difficult because they would have to take on a $31.55 million dead cap hit. Which means getting rid of Samuel would be nearly twice as expensive as keeping him.

I say they should cut him anyway. Take the penalty and move on with younger players who have a future on this team. Samuel is a malcontent who fights with teammates and complains about his lack of touches even after wins.

But Kyle Shanahan loves him and probably thinks he has one more good season left in the tank.

He doesn’t. Cut him.