Should the 49ers Have Deebo Samuel Return Kicks Indefinitely?

There was a surprise from the 49ers when they took on the Eagles in Week 13.

It was seeing Deebo Samuel returning kicks for the game. That is something he hasn't done at all this season, and it's been a long time since he has been a kick returner. Usually that responsibility falls on Ray-Ray McCloud, but he was inactive for that game due to a rib injury.

With McCloud out, the 49ers had no other recourse than to roll with Samuel. And now they might end up having him hold onto that role for the foreseeable future after McCloud was placed on Injured Reserve. But Kyle Shanahan revealed Monday that McCloud's injury wasn't the lone factor in having Samuel return kicks.

"That wasn't just a decision with Ray-Ray being out, it was also a decision we were thinking about going to regardless," said Shanahan. "Nothing against Ray-Ray or anyone. It was just more ways to get a special player like Deebo the ball in his hand. We’ve got to take that risk-reward every week. We've decided to do it the last two weeks and we'll come up with that decision each week here going forward.”

It sounds like Shanahan is leaning towards having Samuel hold onto that role going forward. So, should the 49ers have Samuel return kicks indefinitely?

Not at all. He should not be returning every single kick for an entire game. That isn't worth it at all. If he were to come up gimpy, or worse, because of a hit he took trying to make a play, then it would look like an incredibly questionable call. I get why Shanahan wants Samuel there because he is a magician with the ball in his hands.

He should not be the indefinite kick returner. Rather, the 49ers should use him selectively in that role. Let's say the 49ers are in a sluggish battle and aren't really finding much success in a close game, so they need a spark from somewhere. That spark can be Samuel. If it's the fourth quarter in a game where they have a two score lead, then by no means should Samuel go out there.

His impact and influence on the offense far outweighs any positives that they could gain on a kickoff return, especially now that he looks like his 2021 version. At least by using him selectively, it breaks as a median between not using him and wanting to always use him. Samuel could essentially be the "break in case of emergency" glass window for the 49ers with him returning kicks.

By no means should he be handling that duty full time. Use him as needed and not unnecessarily.