Deebo Samuel made a noteworthy decision when he reported to mandatory minicamp with the San Francisco 49ers earlier this month, and many took that as a sign that he is committed to the team going forward. That is not necessarily the case, however.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said on “SportsCenter” Sunday that Samuel has not rescinded his trade request. The 49ers remain optimistic that they can sign Samuel to a long-term contract extension, but it does not sound like the star wide receiver’s mindset has changed much.
“Nothing else significant has happened behind the scenes between Samuel and the 49ers. In fact, he hasn’t officially rescinded his trade request as far as I’ve heard,” Fowler said, via Bleacher Report’s Tyler Conway. “But the 49ers are still hopeful that they can mend this relationship (and) come to a long-term agreement at some point. Could be closer to training camp or around then, but they’ll chip away at this. And really, the trade market has sizzled; around draft time was really the best time to do that. Now, there really hasn’t been a lot of buzz or traction.”
Samuel is set to make $4 million in the final year of his rookie contract. There was a point when he made it seem like he had no intention of playing for the Niners again, but the team did not entertain trade offers before or during the NFL Draft. It now seems unlikely that they will deal him.
Though he enjoyed a breakout season last year with 1,405 receiving yards, 365 yards rushing and 14 total touchdowns, Samuel apparently was not happy with his role in San Francisco’s offense. Perhaps Kyle Shanahan can work with him to make some changes.
