Deebo Samuel Sr.: “No bad blood” with 49ers

At a time when some reports are indicating that the 49ers had developed a disdain for receiver Deebo Samuel Sr., Deebo feels no ill will toward the 49ers.

“49ers know where I stand with them and it’s nothing but love,” Samuel tweeted on Monday night. “Love [G.M.] John [Lynch] and [coach] Kyle [Shanahan] to death no bad blood no way shape or form. They know I’m more than appreciative of everything they done for me as a player and a man nothing but love.”

Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard paints a somewhat different picture, from the team’s perspective. Kawakami cites lingering frustration with Samuel from Super Bowl LVIII. Writes Kawakami regarding Samuel’s performance in the second loss in four Super Bowls to the Chiefs: “Kyle Shanahan repeatedly tried to get the ball to Deebo, who failed to produce much of anything. He caught 3 passes for 33 yards, ran it 3 times for 8 yards, and was a complete non-factor — when one big play might’ve won it all.”

Kawakami adds that, during Samuel’s contract negotiations in 2022, Kawakami “heard that a 49ers negotiator told Deebo or his agent that he didn’t deserve the kind of massive extension other players were receiving because he wasn’t going to last that long at the top of the game.” While that may have been nothing more than a bargaining tactic (after all, they gave him a significant deal), the current move seems to reflect a conclusion by the team that Samuel is approaching or at his expiration date.

The fact that the 49ers traded Samuel to a conference rival for only a fifth-round pick says it all. They’ve decided that it was time to move on. Maybe the fresh start will help him. Regardless, it looks like the 49ers wanted to move on a year too early instead of a year too late, and that a divorce may have been a few years coming.