New Commanders star discusses shocking illness he played through

Deebo Samuel opened up about a severe case of pneumonia that sent him to the hospital last season. He says he "literally couldn't breathe" during a game.

Jul 23, 2025; Ashburn, VA, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. (1) walks out of team headquarters onto the fields prior to practice on day one of training camp at OrthoVirginia Training Center at Commanders Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Washington Commanders added wide receiver Deebo Samuel this offseason, hoping his playmaking ability could take their offense to the next level. What some fans may not have known, though, is how much Samuel went through just to stay on the field during the 2024 season.

The Commanders veteran opened up during a recent press conference, revealing he suffered a severe case of pneumonia last season with the San Francisco 49ers. This illness sent him to the hospital and made breathing a struggle in the middle of his campaign.

Washington now has a fully healthy Samuel entering the 2025 season, but his words gave fans a glimpse into just how tough he is behind the scenes.

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Dec 30, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. (1) before the game against the Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

“Pneumonia? Yeah, brother, the pneumonia story was crazy,” Samuel said. “I was sleeping one night and woke up at probably like two, three in the morning and couldn't stop coughing, but I never had pneumonia and never knew what it was.”

Samuel recalled trying to push through the illness before a game, thinking he was just dehydrated or low on sugar. But his symptoms quickly worsened during pregame warmups.

“I couldn't breathe, literally couldn't breathe, couldn't move. So, I went in the training room, got another IV, I just thought something just wrong. And then probably four or five plays in the game, I feel like if I would've went another play I probably would've crashed.”

Samuel said his chest was “flamed up” by the time he went to the hospital. He spent three to four days there, unsure of what exactly he was fighting through at the time. Still, his mindset never shifted away from trying to help his team.

“Me, the competitor. The competitor I am, I just put myself in the position to be in the best shape possible and just go out there and contribute to the team.”

The good news for the Commanders is that Samuel says he’s fully back to form — but it wasn’t an overnight recovery.

“Kind of probably towards the end where I kind of got my breathing back and felt like normal,” he explained. “Coming off pneumonia, it's kind of hard to breathe, so it's kind of hard to build that capacity back up but towards the end of the year I felt fine.”

When asked if this season feels like a significant one for him now that he’s back to full strength, Samuel kept it simple.

“Yeah, for sure but I just take it day-by-day and just let the cards play itself.”

With a clean bill of health and a new role in the Commanders offense led by Jayden Daniels, Deebo Samuel could be in line for one of the biggest bounce-back seasons in the NFL.

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