Deebo Samuel’s New Contract Allows The 49ers To Look Forward
Simply put, Samuel is close to an irreplaceable player for San Francisco.
After showing flashes of promise in his first two NFL seasons, he blossomed in 2021, finishing with 1,405 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
But it’s his versatility that makes him a special player.
Samuel also ran for 365 yards and eight touchdowns last year, and most of that production came in the second half of the season.
Now, the 49ers can focus on the main thing moving forward: winning their sixth Super Bowl.
Samuel’s Role Is Unlikely To Change
When Samuel asked to be traded, one reason was that he reportedly didn’t like the fact that he was sometimes used as a running back.
It’s a role that could conceivably shorten his career, since full-time running backs usually fall off a cliff around the time they turn 30.
But it looks like Samuel, who is 26, will still be lining up in the backfield as needed.
“I think [it’s] based off of whatever happens,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “From my standpoint schematically, from our team’s personnel, from Deebo’s, from what we think gives us the best chance to win, if we wanted to move Deebo to running back that would have been something that we were honest about. … You can’t do that with anybody. You’ve got to do that with a special player and Deebo is a special player. That’s why he’s earned this contract that he’s got and I think that’s why he’s going to continue to earn it going forward.”
In fact, the South Carolina native’s contract has incentives that will earn him more money for being productive as a running back.
“Samuel can earn $650,000 for each season he has 380 or more rushing yards,” wrote Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com. “If he doesn’t get the rushing yardage total, he can earn $150,000 in bonuses in any season in which he scores at least three rushing touchdowns.”
It may be wise for the 49ers to limit Samuel’s time in such a role as he gets into his late 20s if nothing else than out of an abundance of caution to reduce his injury risk and allow him to extend his longevity and viability.
Lance Could Maximize The Offense
Lance is clearly a better long-ball threat than Jimmy Garoppolo ever was, and that alone could fatten up Samuel’s stats as a receiver.
