Early in the NFL offseason, it certainly sounded like Deebo Samuel’s days as a member of the 49ers were numbered. That’s if you paid attention to the media reports, that stated Samuel was unhappy with San Francisco low-balling him despite wanting him to play both wide receiver and running back, something he was no longer interested in doing.
Now we know that’s not true. In fact, Samuel has incentives built into his new three-year, $71,550,000 contract that grant him bonuses for reaching a handful of rushing milestones.
So where did those reports come from? They stemmed from a “miscommunication” according to Samuel’s agent, Tory Dandy.
“There was certainly a miscommunication put out there about him not wanting to play running back,” Dandy told Bally Sports. “I’m mean of course he knows he’s a wide receiver, I mean he made first-team All-Pro at wide receiver. So I think there was a miscommunication about how he was going to get used.
“I think at the end of the day in these negotiations it’s business. Sometimes things get said that should not have been said or whatever. What I think the misconception was that I had something to do with how Deebo had expressed himself. At the end of the day I work for the client, the client don’t work for me.
“He set a high standard last year with his performance, and he wants to be not just a first-team All-Pro last year, he wants to do that again, and again, and again. His ultimate goal is to have a gold jacket one day. He wants to have security for his family but also he wants to keep his name and legacy out there in a great light.”
It will be interesting to see how much Samuel is used at running back this season, considering San Francisco’s depth seems to be much better at the position.