Why the 49ers Should Extend Deebo Samuel
Deebo Samuel is due for a contract extension from the 49ers.
Given that he is coming off of an All Pro season where he heavily factored into playoff success for the team, Samuel is surely going to demand the bag.
Right now is the prime opportunity for him to get cashed out seeing as his peers at wide receiver are doing the same. It is now going to be Samuel's turn to receive a lucrative extension, but that likely won't happen until close to training camp. That is how the 49ers have operated with their players who are rightfully due for an extension like George Kittle and Fred Warner.
However, the 49ers could be thinking otherwise to extend Samuel. He did only perform superbly for one season, and before that he wasn't really close to the same impact. Giving him $70 million guaranteed, which is ultimately all that matters, could not be something the 49ers are willing to surrender for a one-hit wonder. Despite his one year of dominance, there is a case to be made for why the 49ers should extend Samuel regardless of the cost.
It all comes down to the fact that Samuel unlocks the offense.
When he is out there he opens up everything. Kyle Shanahan becomes a masterful chess player with Samuel and just unleashes a barrage of clinical drives with his play calling. Brandon Aiyuk becomes a more threatening receiver as does Jauan Jennings with defenses forced to focus on Samuel. Anywhere he goes in the formation, the defense has to follow. It's why Shanahan utilizes so much motion when Samuel is set to be given the ball. He completely tricks defenses with it all and makes every play so effective.
Without Samuel, the 49ers could not do much on offense. Samuel essentially carried the offense to the playoffs. And should the 49ers not want to pay him, then Samuel could demand a trade. He just saw a couple of his peers do that and then get paid, so he'll surely contemplate it. I'd bet that he would do it too, which at that point the 49ers would be in a serious bind. Even if the 49ers get adequate draft compensation for Samuel, there is NO ONE in the draft or on the team who can have a similar impact as Samuel in 2022.
The 49ers are kind of forced to extend Samuel right now. I do not see how he would be willing to play out the final year of his deal after what he just did last season. The 49ers definitely wouldn't mind if Samuel played out the final year because if he has another great year, then they would have no qualms about cashing Samuel out. But that is not a realistic scenario. Samuel either plays elsewhere in 2022 or gets extended by the 49ers.
And the 49ers would not only weaken their offense, but make the development of Trey Lance tougher since he would be with one less elite weapon. By not giving into the demands of Samuel to be in the realm of one of the highest paid wide receivers is playing with fire. San Francisco can try to lower his number by claiming his greatest impact was as a running back, but Samuel and his camp can easily counter by citing his versatility is what makes him unique. That versatility is exactly why he is impactful and it makes Shanahan's job easier by having a player that resembles the "queen" on a chessboard.
Giving Samuel the prestige of being one of the highest paid, if not the highest, wide receivers in the game would be hard to stomach for the 49ers. That is because his guarantees would most likely be close to around $70 million and that is something the 49ers have never done. The highest guarantee ever surrendered by them was $48.7 million to Jimmy Garoppolo.
But with their Super Bowl window open and a young quarterback who needs his development expedited, do the 49ers really want to lose out on such a great talent because they wanted to be cheap?
Extending Samuel ensures that the offense will be phenomenal again in 2022 and beyond.
