Deebo Samuel is about to begin his second stint with the 49ers, and coach Kyle Shanahan is letting go of the past.
“Deebo’s always been one of the closest guys we’ve been to, just relationship-wise,” Shanahan said. “When Deebo went through his contract negotiations, [I’ll] try not to put words in his mouth, but I think he thought it’d be advantageous to make it look like there was a little bit of a battle. Sometimes that helps, sometimes it doesn’t.”
Shanahan was referring to 2022, when Samuel was the hottest topic of that summer and was seeking a contract extension with San Francisco, three years after the franchise selected him with the 36th overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft.
The negotiations between Samuel and the 49ers were lengthy and at times viewed as a fiery battle. Speaking with the media, Shanahan reminisced and said after their eighth practice of OTAs that offseason he called the noise “BS.”
“He came to minicamp. We had a great summer together. I think he signed the first day back at training camp,” Shanahan said. “We got over that in OTAs. That was just stuff from negotiating periods back in April and stuff.”
Shanahan admitted the negotiating period was confusing at times. Reports came out that Samuel didn’t want to be with the 49ers and was seeking a trade, which left Shanahan thinking, “What the hell is going on?”
“We’re not around Deebo, then we see him in OTAs, and we got to talk man-to-man, and it was fine as soon as we got with each other,” Shanahan said.
Samuel went on to play with San Francisco until 2024, when he was traded to the Commanders, with one year left on his contract.
Last year, Samuel appeared in 16 games with Washington and had 72 receptions for 727 yards and five touchdowns. Starting quarterback Jayden Daniels missed most of the season due to injuries.
Samuel hit free agency for the second consecutive year and re-signed with the 49ers on a one-year deal for $7 million.
