Tag: Deebo Samuel

Kyle Shanahan explains how he’ll reinvent 49ers offense in offseason

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan won’t make major changes to his offense, but their will be some.

The San Francisco 49ers need to do something different offensively.

Last season they were one of the best outfits in the NFL. This season they’ve sputtered on that side of the ball. Injuries certainly played a role, but it doesn’t appear that whatever the 49ers have been doing offensively can work without players like Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk available and playing at a high level.

Those struggles, including 10 points in each of Week 12 and 13, followed by a six-point performance in Week 15, have led to questions about the viability of Shanahan’s offense as presently constructed. Shanahan said any adaptations to his offense will be based on what’s best for the team’s personnel.

“That’s what you try to do every single week,” Shanahan said. “That’s what you try to always do. But it’s kind of like the other question when talking about schemes, you don’t just say, ‘Hey, today I’m going to try to run the wishbone offense and stuff.’ It’s what are the players that you have, what do you believe in and what gives those guys the best chance to succeed? For a little bit here, we almost went with the running quarterback, possibly with [Dallas Cowboys QB] Trey [Lance]. You saw a different offense when he got out there.

“You see different things. You’ve got to adjust your players. I know what I want to do. I think we’ve got the players here to do that stuff. But reinventing yourself as you ask, I did that having a mustache this offseason for a little bit. That’s how I would look at that. And I’m totally joking, but it’s when it comes to football, football’s, that’s why I think coaches get a little too much credit too when a really good scheme is putting the players that you have in the best chance they have to max out and do their best. That’s what we’re gonna always try to do. The scheme will change with that.”

It stands to reason in 2025 we’ll see less reliance on McCaffrey given the team’s issues scoring in the red zone without him this season. There’s also likely to be an adjustment to a version of Samuel that hasn’t been able to take over games via screen passes and designed runs.

Whatever changes need to be made on offense for the 49ers, adapting isn’t something new to Shanahan.

“When I got in the league, you see certain things and I ran a certain offense at Houston when I was there, went to Washington, tried to do a real similar offense and it was totally different personnel and I realized I couldn’t run that same thing and I had to adjust and each year was different,” Shanahan said. “Then we got [Washington Commanders former QB] Robert [Griffin III] in there, which was a quarterback who had a running element, then I had to do stuff that I’d never done before. Not because you’re just reinventing yourself or trying to change the league because you’re trying to figure out what can help the guys that you have be successful. And that can change all the time depending on the player’s skillset.

“But, I’d say as a coach that if you want to make it in this league and you want to have some success in this league you better be able to adjust to anything or you’re only going to be successful when you have the perfect situations.”

How Shanahan tweaks his offense to whatever his personnel is after the offseason will be the greatest factor in determining whether the 49ers are able to open another Super Bowl window.

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Kyle Shanahan responds to Deebo Samuel tweet about ‘not getting the ball!!!!!!!’

Deebo Samuel tweeted. Kyle Shanahan responded.

It looked like something may have been amiss in the San Francisco 49ers locker room Monday when wide receiver Deebo Samuel took to the internet to respond to the critiques of his 2024 season.

Samuel, who is having the least productive seasons of his career, wrote in a since-deleted post on Twitter (currently X), “Not struggling at all just not getting the ball!!!!!!! 🤷🏾‍♂️.”

That would appear to be a direct call out of either the offensive play calling or quarterback Brock Purdy, but Samuel clarified in another post that he wasn’t calling out anyone on the team. This one is still up on the social media site:

Head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about the post in his Tuesday press conference, and his answer alleviated some of the concerns that there might be some dissension in the 49ers locker room.

“Yeah, we’d always love things to stay in-house,” Shanahan said. “That’s probably why I don’t mess with social media. I’m sure I’d get worked up and stuff too if I was reading stuff about myself all the time. And then I’d maybe make a tweet or something too. I mean is it a distraction in our building? No. I’ve got to answer questions about, it’s the first time I’ve talked about it is right here. But Deebo and I see each other every day and talk about stuff every day. So my advice is to not let the outside frustrate you, because just answering those things isn’t going to help you in any way. Usually only hurts you. But as far as like what we deal with and our relationships and our team, it’s water under the bridge.”

The 49ers would love to see Samuel return to form Thursday against the Los Angeles Rams. They may be down to their fourth-string running back so a huge game from the former All-Pro would give San Francisco a much-needed lift against a good NFC West club.

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Deebo Samuel denies struggles in 2024, blames opportunities

San Francisco 49ers WR Deebo Samuel appears to blame play calling for his lackluster production in the 2024 season.

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel is struggling this season.

His limited production was put under a spotlight Sunday in a 38-13 win over the Chicago Bears where virtually everything worked for the 49ers offense except for the touches designed for Samuel. He had 13 rushing yards on five carries and hauled in two receptions for 22 yards.

This season the 2021 All-Pro has 40 catches for 553 yards and one touchdown on 64 targets. He’s also been limited to 92 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown on 32 carries.

Samuel on Monday took to social media and blamed his lack of production on the team’s play calling, writing on Twitter (currently X) that he isn’t getting opportunities:

Samuel in 12 games this season has 72 total touches — 6.0 per game.

Last season he averaged 6.5 touches per game in 15 contests. In 2022 he was at 7.5 per game.

The problem is his touches aren’t nearly as effective as they used to be. In his first five seasons Samuel averaged 11.6 yards per touch. This season he’s at 9.0 per touch, including a career-worst 2.9 yards per rushing attempt.

According to Pro Football Focus, Samuel’s yards after catch per reception is a career-low 7.5, while is yards per route run sits at a career-low 1.73.

He’s also forced only eight missed tackles this season on 40 catches per PFF. Last year he forced 33 missed tackles on 73 catches. The trend is the same as a runner where he’s averaging a career-low 2.4 yards after contact and he’s broken only eight tackles in 32 attempts. In 2023 he forced 22 missed tackles on 43 carries and averaged 3.2 yards after contact.

Samuel may be getting fewer opportunities this year, so his frustration is understandable. But his dip in opportunities has coincided with a clear decline in his success once the ball is in his hands.

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Deebo Samuel weighs in on Azeez Al-Shaair being suspended for hit on Trevor Lawrence

Deebo Samuel, a former teammate of Azeez Al-Shaair, weighs in on the Houston Texans linebacker’s suspension for three games.

Several former NFL players have criticized Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair’s hit against Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel is more on the side of his former teammate.

Samuel recently on his podcast, said that Al-Shaair isn’t the type of player to act with malice while on the field. The hit seemed to be a bang-bang play and far from the perceived character that’s currently being painted about his on-field demeanor.

The two were rookies entering San Francisco in 2019 and shared a locker room for four seasons before Al-Shaair left in free agency following the 2022 campaign.

“I know Azeez very well. He’s one of my brothers, for sure. I talked to him afterward and it wasn’t intentional,” Samuel said.

“That clip doesn’t show who he is as a person. If I’m him, and as you’ve seen, he put out an apology to Trevor Lawrence. He apologized to everybody. That kind of shows the person he really is. At the end of the day, he’s not trying to take anybody out. He’s trying to play the way that he was always been taught to play it. 

“If I’m him in that situation as I’m getting up and somebody is beating on the back of my head, it’s like, ‘I got to get in defense mode.’ With his apology and me knowing him personally and knowing it wasn’t intentional, I just think 3-games is a little much.”

Samuel did defend Lawrence, who left the game with a concussion, and the actions of his teammates came to his defense. Even if Al-Shaair was genuinely trying to make a clean hit, anyone who hit his quarterback would be put in line.

“If you hit my quarterback like that, it’s up. I’m crashing, 100%, no question,” Samuel said. “I get that part.”

Samuel also mentioned that defensive players often receive stricter suspension ramifications compared to offensive players who deliver similar hits against opposing players.

“If it was me, would you suspend me for three games?” Samuel asked. “If that was [Baltimore Ravens running back] Derrick Henry, would he be suspended for three games? I think it’s more so about protecting the quarterbacks.”

Al-Shaair, who signed a three-year deal this offseason with the Texans, will be eligible to return in Week 18’s season finale against the Tennessee Titans.

The Texans return to NRG Stadium to take on the Miami Dolphins this Sunday at noon CT.

Kyle Shanahan explains how 49ers can get struggling All-Pro going

San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan discussed what it will take for the 49ers to ignite receiver Deebo Samuel’s production.

It’s no secret that the best version of the San Francisco 49ers over the past several seasons has typically featured the best version of sixth-year wide receiver Deebo Samuel.

Injuries and illness have played a part in keeping Samuel from looking like the superstar receiver that the 49er Faithful are familiar with.

Samuel dealt with a calf injury during Weeks 3 and 4. Then, it was a wrist injury combined with pneumonia-like symptoms that landed Samuel in the hospital prior to Week 8. An oblique injury had Samuel’s status up in the air against Tampa Bay in Week 10, too.

After catching just one pass for 21 yards on four targets during the 49ers’ 38-10 loss at the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, reporters asked San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan whether or not Samuel had the necessary burst to deliver his typical production.

“I think he has the burst that he needs. He didn’t get a lot of opportunities last night. He had a pretty good kick return that I thought would’ve changed the huge momentum of the game. Unfortunately, it got called back with that holding call.

“I thought he had a good screen. And then the two plays he’s got to do, he’s got to catch both of those balls, and if he catches both of those balls, he’s got a chance to do what he’s good at after that and run with it. And he didn’t get that opportunity because he didn’t catch both those balls. So, if he does, then that would be two more opportunities,” Shanahan said.

Shanahan also made sure to point out that it wasn’t just Samuel that struggled in San Francisco’s worst-ever loss to the Packers.

“And as far as anyone, we didn’t get anybody going in that game. We weren’t consistent and we didn’t participate very much in the first half and the second half with those turnovers and everything just killing our drives. I think we had a total of 50-something plays but we really weren’t able to stay out there consistently enough to get any player going,” Shanahan said.

In addition to protecting the football and extending drives, a good bill of health for starting quarterback Brock Purdy’s right shoulder could help reverse San Francisco’s fortunes in a hurry.

Igniting Samuel’s production during the stretch run of the season will be paramount to the 49ers’ playoff hopes as well, though.

Thus far in 2024, Samuel has 34 grabs for 511 receiving yards with one touchdown reception. The 6-foot, 215 pound receiver also has 27 carries for 79 rushing yards with one score on the ground as well.

Currently in the midst of a two-game losing streak, San Francisco (5-6) returns to action on Sunday, Dec. 1 at Buffalo (9-2). Kickoff is set for 5:20 p.m. PT from Highmark Stadium with the game set to air on NBC.

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It may be time for 49ers to part with superstar playmaker in offseason

It might be time…

It appears the San Francisco 49ers are headed toward an offseason full of difficult decisions.

The salary cap and quarterback Brock Purdy’s impending contract extension were always going to make the 2025 offseason a rough one, but the team’s sluggish 5-5 start to the 2024 campaign is an indicator that significant changes need to be made to their roster.

One of those changes may be parting ways with wide receiver Deebo Samuel.

It’s nigh impossible to envision the Kyle Shanahan 49ers without Samuel. His rookie season was in 2019, the year the club turned around a sustained run of mediocrity and catapulted to the Super Bowl. In that year we saw glimpses of what eventually made him an All-Pro in 2021.

He is a unique play maker whose 1,405 receiving yards, 365 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns in 2021 may be a stat line we never see again from a wide receiver.

Samuel was also a consistent offensive spark for San Francisco, and Shanahan wasn’t afraid to lean on him when the team needed to generate offense.

It appears this season that version of Samuel may not be there anymore for the 49ers. In nine games he’s produced 33 receptions, 490 yards and one touchdown on 52 targets. He’s also carried 27 times for just 79 yards and one touchdown. Of his 27 carries, only two have generated either a touchdown or a first down, and his longest run of the season is just 12 yards.

In Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks where the 49ers didn’t have tight end George Kittle, there was a prime opportunity for Samuel to have a major impact. Instead he hauled in four balls for 22 yards and lost one yard on his only carry of the game.

Samuel’s yards after catch per reception are a career-low 7.7 so far this season. His yards-per-route run of 1.98 are the second-lowest mark of his career. He’s also forced only eight missed tackles on 33 receptions after forcing 40 on 73 catches last year. That trend continues in the run game where he has eight missed tackles forced on 27 carries this year, down from 22 missed tackles forced 43 carries a season ago per Pro Football Focus.

The explosiveness that made Samuel the NFL’s most dangerous playmaker through the early portion of his career seems to have evaded him. It’s hard to blame him given the physicality that defined his playmaking ability.

However, the 49ers need to start devising new ways to create offense, and parting ways with Samuel is starting to look like more of a necessity if they want to turn the page to the next chapter of football in San Francisco.

If they make Samuel a post-June 1 designation, they’ll have a $10,751,753 dead cap hit while saving $5,206,105 against the cap per Over the Cap.

With the type of high-priced contracts the 49ers are holding, that extra $5 million in room would be helpful, and Samuel would be able to find a new opportunity with a team that can differently maximize him.

It also opens the door for players like Ricky Pearsall, Jacob Cowing and Jauan Jennings to be more involved in whatever the next evolution of the 49ers’ offense looks like.

Parting ways with the 2021 All-Pro wouldn’t be easy, and it would be perhaps the single biggest move the 49ers could make to signal that a new era has arrived. It may be a necessity though given everything we know after 11 weeks of the 2024 season.

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49ers star hits Bengals for not paying Ja’Marr Chase

A 49ers star says what everyone is thinking about the Bengals and Ja’Marr Chase.

The Cincinnati Bengals have been on the receiving end of massive criticism for the failure to get a contract extension done with star wideout Ja’Marr Chase this past offseason.

And now a San Francisco 49es star has some thoughts about it, too.

During an interview with Bleacher Report, Samuel was shocked that the Bengals didn’t just get a deal done because Chase continues to be one of the best players in the game on a yearly basis.

“It’s definitely not a great idea now with him playing the way he’s playing,” Samuel said. “He was already doing this. That’s the thing. And it’s like, all right, you can make him mad, which is obviously not what you wanted to do…now you’re gonna have another problem this offseason.”

The commentary comes after Chase’s 11-catch outburst that totaled 264 yards and three touchdowns during the loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Things are so bad for the Bengals on this outlook now that even Chase’s agent is commenting on it publicly. The number on his contract extension was always going to climb if they waited to get it done, but now serious roster holes along the defense make next offseason even tougher from a money standpoint.

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49ers explain what happened in sideline scuffle during Week 10 victory

Here’s what Jake Moody, Taybor Pepper and Deebo Samuel had to say after their scuffle during Sunday’s game:

Tempers flared on the San Francisco 49ers’ sideline during the team’s 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

After kicker Jake Moody missed his third kick, wide receiver Deebo Samuel had some words for the 49ers’ second-year kicker. Long snapper Taybor Pepper wasn’t happy with whatever Samuel had to say, and got in the receiver’s face. Samuel responded by striking Pepper in the throat.

There was more yelling between the two players, but no further physical escalation.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t appear bothered by the incident in his press conference after the 49ers’ victory.

“I don’t have much of a take because I didn’t see any of it,” Shanahan said. “So I just got told about it – but probably an obvious one, guys frustrated and something probably happened and you know brothers scuffle a little bit. I didn’t see any of it, so I don’t know how bad it was, but something I’m not too worried about, we’ll fix it. If it hasn’t been fixed already, we’ll fix it on the plane and go back to loving each other tomorrow.”

Samuel had similar sentiments after the game, which the 49ers won thanks to a 44-yard walk-off field goal by Moody.

“Nothing, to be honest with you,” Samuel said. “Just frustrated in the heat of battle. It was a close game and I kinda got out of character a little bit. But I’ll talk to Moody and we’ll get past it.”

Samuel and Pepper both acknowledged Samuel wasn’t saying anything out of line to Moody, and Pepper said his only goal was to stand up for his kicker.

“Just a high-emotion game,” Pepper said. “Football’s high-emotion, and Jake was having a little rough patch there. I was just standing up for Jake, because there was still time on the clock. The game wasn’t over and everybody knows what happened at the end.

“It’s not over until the clock says zero. They all count three when it’s a field goal. And I always got four’s (Moody’s) back.”

Ultimately there weren’t any adverse affects for Moody. He made the 44-yard game-winner as time expired and helped the 49ers get home with a win. He said he’s not concerned about the incident.

“Like I said, it’s in the heat of the moment – it happens,” Moody said. “I do have to make those kicks at the end of the day, so that’s all I’m focused on. I’m not worried on anything like that.”

It’s understandable if some frustrations were mounting. The weather was in the high 80s at kickoff in Tampa Bay and the 49ers were in the midst of a potential collapse in an extremely important game. The team has also had a slew of frustrating losses in 2024, and this one was on the verge of being another.

Chances are this specific incident won’t linger. The larger problem for the 49ers will be avoiding more instances where players have reason for frustration on the sideline.

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Will Deebo Samuel play this week? Injury updates for 49ers WR

49ers WR Deebo Samuel is working through rib and oblique injuries. Here are the latest updates.

Brandon Aiyuk’s season-ending knee injury isn’t the only health issue the San Francisco 49ers are dealing with at wide receiver.

WR Deebo Samuel is also working through a couple of injuries. He has rib and oblique ailments he sustained in the 49ers’ Week 8 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Here is the latest on Samuel’s status for Sunday when the 49ers take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Central Florida.

Deebo Samuel injury update

Samuel is officially listed as ‘questionable’ on the team’s injury report. He was limited in all three practices during the week.

How long will Deebo Samuel be out?

The pair of injuries don’t appear to be serious. Samuel got through practice without any setbacks. If he’s unable to go in Week 10, it stands to reason he’ll be back in Week 11 when the 49ers host the Seattle Seahawks.

49ers WR depth chart

If Samuel is unable to go, rookie WR Ricky Pearsall would likely be thrust into a much bigger role. Samuel’s fellow WR Jauan Jennings is also listed as questionable with a hip injury. Jennings would step into a WR1 role if he’s active and Samuel isn’t. Behind them it’s a mixed bag. Rookie Jacob Cowing might see some time, but the team would more likely lean on veteran Chris Conley and second-year WR Ronnie Bell.

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49ers injury update has some bad news for breakout star RB

Jordan Mason was a full go in Wednesday’s practice, but that wasn’t the case Thursday:

The San Francisco 49ers didn’t have many changes on their Thursday’ practice participation report.

It’s not a huge surprise that Thursday didn’t feature many differences from Wednesday since generally players limited to start the week will remain limited. Eight players were limited in Wednesday’s practice.

More noteworthy things on a practice report during the week are setbacks or players going the other direction toward less participation. San Francisco had a couple of those on Thursday’s participation report with running back Jordan Mason and safety Malik Mustapha showing up as limited participants after full practices Wednesday.

Mason is dealing with a shoulder injury he suffered in Week 6. He was listed as a full participant on Wednesday. Mustapha wasn’t on the report which indicates his calf injury happened at some point during the week.

It’ll be worth monitoring both closely Friday to see if their participation progresses.

Here’s Thursday’s report:

Did not participate

WR Chris Conley (hamstring)
DT Kevin Givens (groin)
CB Charvarius Ward (not injury related – personal matter)

This trio is trending toward not playing in Sunday’s game.

Limited participation

DE Nick Bosa (hip)
OL Jon Feliciano (knee)
DL Yetur Gross-Matos (knee)
WR Jauan Jennings (hip)
RB Jordan Mason (shoulder)
RB Christian McCaffrey (Achilles)
K Jake Moody (ankle)
S Malik Mustapha (calf)
WR Deebo Samuel (rib, oblique)
P Mitch Wishnowsky (back)

Mustapha and Mason showing up here is a little alarming. That the rest of the group, specifically Bosa, McCaffrey, Jennings and Samuel, didn’t have any setbacks is a good sign for their availability Sunday.

Full participation

LT Trent Williams
QB Brandon Allen (finger)
CB Renardo Green (ankle)
LB Dee Winters (concussion)

Good news for the 49ers that neither Green nor Winters suffered a setback.

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