Deebo Samuel is seeking a contract extension from the San Francisco 49ers, and it sure seems like the star wide receiver is not pleased with the way negotiations have gone.
Samuel has removed references to the Niners from his social media profiles. As of Thursday afternoon, Samuel’s Twitter avatar featured him in street clothes. His Instagram profile picture was totally blank. Fans also noticed that Samuel unfollowed the 49ers on Instagram.
Deebo Samuel has removed his #49ers profile picture, unfollowed the team, and has deleted over 80 posts (was at 248, now at 164) from his Instagram account.
Deebo is entering the final year of his rookie contract.
Could mean something. Could be trolling. But it happened. pic.twitter.com/0KXDbBw3dU
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) April 7, 2022
What does all of this mean? Samuel can claim people are reading into it too much, but we have seen the same stunt from other athletes who were unhappy with their respective teams. Kyler Murray pulled a similar move earlier this offseason to express his frustration with the Arizona Cardinals. Though, the star quarterback later came up with a lame excuse.
Samuel had a breakout third season in San Francisco. He caught 77 passes for 1,405 yards and rushed 59 times for 365 yards. He also scored 14 total touchdowns and established himself as one of the most dynamic playmakers in the NFL.
There have been some rumblings this offseason about the Niners potentially trading Samuel, but they quickly shut those down. Samuel has obviously seen some of the massive contracts that have been given to wide receivers this offseason. You can’t blame him for wanting to cash in, but the 49ers have time on their side. The social media antics are one way Samuel can try to put pressure on the team.
Photo: Aug 29, 2021; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel (19) before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
