49ers’ Deebo Samuel reportedly does not want to be used ‘as a running back’

Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs and, most recently, Hunter Renfrow are among the NFL wide receivers who have earned pay raises this offseason. Still waiting for his opportunity to do so is San Francisco 49ers dual-threat talent and All-Pro selection Deebo Samuel, who requested to be traded earlier this spring and who is in the final year of his rookie contract. 

Samuel showed up for San Francisco’s mandatory minicamp moved up to this Tuesday through Thursday, and head coach Kyle Shanahan made it clear earlier this week the relationship between player and club has “always been all right” despite reports suggesting otherwise. Those words did not, however, address a claim made by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport in April that said, among other things, “Samuel is uncomfortable with how he was used in Kyle Shanahan’s offense in 2021.” 

The 26-year-old accumulated 1,405 receiving yards, 365 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns last season. 

As David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone pointed out, Rapoport recently appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” and explained how the two sides can work things out to the benefit of both before Week 1 in September. 

“What the 49ers, I think, have done is try to say to him, ‘We are not gonna use you as a running back,'” Rapoport remarked. “They drafted a running back in the third round. They have a couple of good players, running backs, coming back from last year. I think they’d like to use him on the gadget plays but not give it to him between the tackles 15 times. That is something that actually speaks maybe louder than a new contract.”

Rapoport added: 

“He wants to be paid as a receiver. … This contract is great, but he doesn’t want it to be his only contract. I mean, we see what happens to running backs — they get beat up. It’s actually really forward-thinking and smart. It really is.”

San Francisco general manager John Lynch declared last week that Samuel “will be part of the 49ers this season,” and Shanahan said on Tuesday he hopes “to solve this contractually before we get to the season.”