Earlier this offseason, the San Francisco 49ers chose to move on from veteran wide receiver Deebo Samuel due to contract disputes. Samuel was shipped to the Washington Commanders for a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. A week after being acquired by the Commanders, he was guaranteed $17 million in 2025 with a chance to earn $3 million in incentives.
San Francisco deemed that price too steep for a player who has seemingly been on a decline since his breakout 2021 season. That said, the 49ers' reluctance to pay Samuel seems to be fueling rage within him.
On Monday, Samuel posted a video of himself working out at the Commanders' facility to his Instagram story. The video was captioned “This time ima a show 'em get in a whole different bag; everybody can talk it but they ain’t standing how I stand!!!” Samuel is clearly determined to show San Francisco and the whole NFL he still has a lot left in the tank in 2025.
Deebo Samuel Seems Motivated to Prove the 49ers Wrong in 2025
San Francisco selected Samuel with the 36th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. While he had a decent rookie season, tallying 961 all-purpose yards (802 receiving and 159 rushing) and four touchdowns, the 29-year-old didn't truly break out until his third season. In 2021, Samuel recorded 1,766 all-purpose yards (1,406 receiving and 361 rushing) and 14 touchdowns.
He also had his most productive season in yards after the catch at 18.2 due to his ability to break tackles. Since then, Samuel has taken a huge step back. The 28-year-old only has one season with 1,000 all-purpose yards. That happened in 2023 when he recorded 1,117 all-purpose yards ( 892 receiving and 225 rushing) and 12 touchdowns.
Furthermore, Samuel has missed nine games over the past three seasons due to injury. Therefore, San Francisco being unwilling to pay him when they needed to pay Brock Purdy, Fred Warner and George Kittle made sense.
Still, Samuel's Instagram posts suggest frustration and defiance. It's clear that he believes both the fans and the organization started to doubt him. And now he's out to prove that was a mistake
Whether he is able to recapture what he did in 2021 form remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Deebo Samuel hasn’t forgotten how things ended in San Francisco. And if his post is any indication, he’s planning to turn that bitterness into fuel.