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Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff WriterDec 10, 2024, 07:50 PM ET
- Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL at ESPN since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In his 10 years with the company, Nick has led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam’s subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team’s relocation and stadium saga. You can follow Nick via Twitter @nwagoner
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — One day after taking to social media and attributing his downturn in production to a lack of opportunities, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel stood by his assertion Tuesday.
On Monday afternoon, Samuel wrote on X, “Not struggling at all just not getting the ball!” He later deleted the post and added in a separate one that he was “not hating on any of my teammates.”
With the Niners preparing for the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night, Samuel was asked if he wanted to offer any further clarification on his posts.
“You read what you read,” Samuel said. “(I’m) a little frustrated for sure.”
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Samuel’s frustration stems from a lack of production the likes of which he hasn’t had since early in his rookie season. Over the past four games, Samuel has 97 yards from scrimmage on 17 touches, an average of 5.7 yards per touch. Samuel hasn’t exceeded 35 yards from scrimmage in any of those four contests, finishing with 21, 21, 20 and 35 against Seattle, Green Bay, Buffalo and Chicago, respectively.
It’s the first time Samuel has failed to have at least 50 yards from scrimmage in four straight games since a five-game stretch in 2019. Even amid that 2019 stretch — from Week 3 through 9 including the bye — Samuel still had games of 44, 48 and 40 yards from scrimmage.
On Tuesday, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said that while he would prefer Samuel keeps such complaints in-house, he and Samuel talk every day and those conversations often include his usage in games.
“I understand Deebo saying that,” Shanahan said. “Deebo wants to help us out and the only way he helps us out is getting the ball more. We’d like to get it to him more.
“Is it a distraction in our building? No … My advice is to not let the outside frustrate you because just answering those things isn’t going to help you in any way. It usually only hurts you. But as far as what we deal with and our relationships and our team, it’s water under the bridge.”
In terms of opportunities, the numbers show Samuel’s touches have gone down slightly this year, albeit not in a significant way. They do, however, show a big drop off from his best season in 2021.
Samuel is averaging six touches per game in 12 games in 2024, a slight drop from the 6.5 he averaged in the 2023 regular season, and a big drop from the 7.5 he had in 2022 and the 8.5 he was getting in 2021.
Along with the decrease in chances, though, Samuel has also been less productive when he has had the ball in his hands. His 53.8 scrimmage yards per game is on pace for the lowest of his career, and his two touchdowns would be his second-lowest total other than an injury-plagued 2020.
Some of that downturn can be attributed to Samuel’s inability to get yards after the catch and yards after contact as consistently as he has in the past.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said that while he would prefer Deebo Samuel keep such complaints in-house, he and Samuel talk every day and those conversations often include the wide receiver’s usage in games. Kim Klement Neitzel/Imagn Images
On his 32 carries, Samuel is getting just 1.28 yards after contact per rush, which would easily fall below the 2.07 he averaged in 2023 for the lowest of his career. On his 40 receptions, Samuel is gaining 7.6 yards after the catch, which would also finish below his previous low of 8.3 posted as a rookie in 2019.
Samuel’s ineffectiveness as a runner has also limited his versatility as he’s mustering just 2.9 yards per carry. The element of using Samuel as a curveball in the back field seems to have long since vanished.
“They’re not surprised no more,” Samuel said. “We’ve been doing it for almost three years now, so it’s kind of you got a 50/50 chance, whether I’m in the backfield getting a handoff or end around or anything along those lines.”
With four games left, Samuel’s teammates made it clear they still need him for a final push toward the postseason. Running backs Christian McCaffrey (right knee) and Jordan Mason (ankle) and wideout Brandon Aiyuk (right ACL) are out for the year, and while tight end George Kittle and receiver Jauan Jennings have helped pick up the slack, Samuel figures to get more opportunities down the stretch.
Kittle said Samuel was “very close” to a big game last week against the Bears, but some different defensive looks from Chicago after changing coaches took some of those chances away. Kittle added that Samuel, who has averaged 88.2 scrimmage yards and scored seven touchdowns in nine career games against the Rams, is “about to pop off.”
It’s a notion to which Samuel said Tuesday “when it comes, it comes.”
“He’s like one of my best friends on this team,” quarterback Brock Purdy said. “I absolutely love Deebo and what he’s done for me and helping me out. We talk all the time and I think he’s right. He’s doing great right now with what we ask of him in the offense. And he’s not struggling or anything … There’s just moments I guess throughout seasons where guys just don’t get the ball, just depending on the scheme or what the defensive scheme is and them taking guys away.
“I want to get Deebo the ball every play if I could. I want to have him break all the records as best as possible. I want Deebo to do Deebo things and we all do in this building. It’s just how the games have gone. But I love my guy and I’m going to do everything I can to get him the ball.”
