AP Photo/Roger Steinman
The San Francisco 49ers weren’t about to let Deebo Samuel go elsewhere after his incredible 2021 season.
The franchise and the wide receiver reportedly agreed to a three-year contract extension on Sunday, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Ian Rapoport @RapSheet
The <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/49ers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#49ers</a> and star weapon Deebo Samuel worked for months and get it done. He lands a huge deal — 3 year extension worth $73.5M max and $71.55M total. The guarantee is $58.1M. He’ll be 29 years old entering the last year of his deal with the potential for another massive one.
The 2022 season was set to be the final year of his rookie contract, but Rapoport reported in January that “both sides are interested in looking at a potential blockbuster deal this offseason.”
He noted San Francisco is “among the most proactive teams when it comes to contract extensions” and could look to pay Samuel around $20 million per year.
Yet things appeared to take a drastic turn in April when ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported Samuel told the 49ers he wanted to be traded.
Rapoport added more context to the situation, noting Samuel had “been unwilling to engage” in San Francisco’s attempt to offer him a long-term deal. Rapoport reported that “money is not at the root of the issues” and noted Samuel has some “issues with how he’s used.”
While it once seemed like the two sides would be unable to come to an agreement before a potential trade, that changed with Sunday’s developments, which keeps him with the only NFL team he has ever suited up for.
The 49ers selected the South Carolina product with a second-round pick in 2019, and he made an immediate impact with 802 receiving yards, three touchdown catches and three touchdown runs as a rookie.
Samuel appeared primed for a breakout effort in 2020 with some experience under his belt, but injuries limited him to just seven games in his second season. That made him a major question mark coming into the 2021 campaign for a team that had Super Bowl aspirations.
All he did was establish himself as one of the best playmakers in the entire league.
The result was his first career Pro Bowl selection and a first-team All-Pro nod as he played wide receiver and running back on the way to 77 catches for 1,405 yards and six touchdowns to go with 59 carries for 365 yards and eight touchdowns.
He posted an NFL-best 18.2 yards per catch and even threw a touchdown pass.
Samuel is electrifying with the ball in his hands, and that didn’t stop in the playoffs when he went over 100 all-purpose yards with a touchdown in the win over the Dallas Cowboys. He had a monster conversion with a run on 3rd-and-7 to set up Robbie Gould’s winning field goal in the final moments of the victory over the Green Bay Packers as well.
He also scored a touchdown in the NFC Championship Game loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
While it remains to be seen exactly how he will be used, the newly signed receiver is just 26 years old and has a bright future ahead of him after finding his spot as an all-purpose weapon in an offense that knows how to scheme him open and into space.
The 49ers ensured the next part of that future will happen with them.
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