Should the 49ers let Deebo Samuel Play out the Final Year of his Deal?
Deebo Samuel is awaiting a contract extension from the 49ers.
There is no secret when it comes to his desires about that. Every NFL player who is a stud always seeks an extension when they’re entering the final year of their deal. And if a team is sure of that player’s talent, then they will offer an extension in a heartbeat without disrespecting that player by letting them play on the final year. It’s like football’s version of the “unwritten rules of baseball” in this sense.
Samuel is surely looking for a lucrative extension from the 49ers. And with so many wide receivers being cashed out and resetting the market, Samuel is definitely going to want to tap into it. 2021 was largely successful because of Samuel offensively, specifically the second-half of the season when he predominantly was a running back. He also accumulated over 1,000 receiving yards, so he’s looking in prime position.
Or is he?
Samuel has only had one fantastic season. 2020 was injury ridden for him and 2019 he was a solid rookie that didn’t take off until the second-half of the year. Investing heavily in Samuel is something the 49ers could be cautious about since this sample size is small. They could want to see more from him before committing an enormous sum of cash to him.
So should the 49ers let Samuel play out the final year of his deal?
If they can get Samuel to understand why, then sure. Lamar Jackson is fine with playing on the final year of his deal with the Ravens as both sides just aren’t entirely sure yet.
However, Samuel has no reason to “understand” and be team first in this sense. As I stated earlier, stud players in this league want to be extended when entering the final year of their contract. They want security and the reward for their efforts, which Samuel is sure to remind the 49ers of his efforts last season that factored into the playoff berth and success in the first place.
So if I’m the 49ers, I’m not playing with fire by letting him play on the last year of his rookie contract because he can always leave in free agency. Of course, there is the option of using the franchise tag, but that is a pathway the 49ers probably won't be inclined to utilize. The 49ers have to make a decision on an extension that is by no means easy.
Samuel has had a different story each of his three years in the league so far. 2019 was promising and electric rookie. 2020 was a plummet year due to injury. 2021 was rise to stardom. There’s consistency lacking here, especially compared to the players who signed big-time extensions.
Plus, the 49ers are going to factor in that despite his 1,000 yard season, his greatest impact is as a running back. When he was primarily a receiver, the 49ers were staring at 3-5. When he was primarily a running back, the 49ers finished 7-2 en route to an NFC championship game appearance. Negotiating an extension with Samuel is going to be insanely tricky, which was a premise of mine when I wrote why the 49ers could trade Samuel.
Letting him play on the final year of his deal is highly unlikely from the 49ers’ perspective as they didn’t do that with George Kittle and Fred Warner. Granted they did drag it on until training camp practically, but they got it done. Dragging it on was probably a case of being cautious in case the player got injured. So hopefully Samuel is a patient person because the 49ers are sure to make him wait.
And judging from his Instagram, I don’t think he is.
