I think it's a question of, how imperative is he to Brock's success. Because letting him walk just to have Purdy regress to the point that they end up needing to overpay some journeyman QB would basically be a net-zero, financially, as opposed to just paying BA to let him be Purdy's intermediate route safety blanket. The man isn't a 'break the game open' receiver... here. But he's statistically the most open WR in the NFL, and if he's that on a team that's more pass-focused, how long will he not be that kind of player? Man got 1k yards as the 3rd option, while the 1st and 2nd options... didn't.
I think there's a lot of long-term danger in undervaluing the contribution. Deebo is Deebo, but he's not a down-the-field route running receiver. Him and CMC on the field force a safety crashdown or an 8-man box, which is partially why those intermediates are open consistently. But without someone to work them... you just end up in situations where the team can only run the ball on ridiculous end-arounds and disguises. And once you're there... there's no PA game.
Kittle could alleviate a lot of the strain a BA loss would give, but... the OLine situation is way too dire for him to be anything more than a 6th lineman most plays, and if the team get's a new hole at LT at the end of the season, that's getting worse - not better.
if Danny Gray has panned out, there's a case that the team could work without BA. But as long as the heir apparent #2 is Jauan Jennings... yeah. Team can't afford that kind of hell. Not with the defense regressing and the only surefire way to win with this makeup is scoring 30. You can't do that with slants, drags and RB dumpoffs for a whole season - shyt ain't feasible.
