49ers offensive struggles in training camp show why Deebo Samuel is vital

The 49ers offense has mostly floundered in training camp so far, meaning it’s important to get a deal done with Deebo Samuel sooner than later.

The San Francisco 49ers just negotiated a new contract with All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel in the wake of head coach Kyle Shanahan repeatedly telling reporters both sides were hard at work trying to get a deal done.

With one week of training camp in the books, Samuel was present but wasn’t participating in team drills, instead, he was electing to work out on the sidelines while he awaited a lucrative contract extension.

Over the course of that week, the Niners offense didn’t look good.

Granted, offenses usually start off slower than defenses, and that’s not unique to San Francisco. But, considering the 49ers are trying to do everything they can to ensure quarterback Trey Lance has success ahead of his first full year as a starter, not having Samuel available certainly left an impact.

Not necessarily a good one either.

Lance completed roughly 50 percent of his passes during the first week, also being intercepted three times and struggling to find any sort of regular rhythm with his other pass-catching targets.

Sure, there have been other elements to blame here, such as a makeshift offensive line that hasn’t donned pads yet. But now would be the time where Lance needs to develop that rapport with the Niners’ top offensive weapon.

With Deebo Samuel absent, Trey Lance had to look to other 49ers targets

Perhaps it’ll be a lesson to help guard against Samuel potentially missing time with an injury, if and when that happens. But Lance has frequently found himself forcing passes to tight end George Kittle and with mixed results.

On top of that, the quarterback regularly targets fellow wideout Brandon Aiyuk.

This would make sense, as Aiyuk is the de facto No. 2 option on the depth chart behind Samuel. But, as Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn pointed out after one particular practice last week, the third-year pro “is maddeningly inconsistent.”

Sure, this has led to plays like the one below:

Read More: What Trey Lance revealed to us over first week of training camp

But it’s also influenced Lance’s early struggles, too.

Did Deebo Samuel take contractual advantage of 49ers’ offensive woes?

All parties have recognized by this point San Francisco’s offense didn’t have the cleanest opening week. The front office knows it, Lance knows it and certainly, Samuel knew it.

Exactly how much this could have influenced the contract-extension talks going on early in training camp is anyone’s guess, but it wouldn’t be beyond a doubt Samuel’s camp could have pointed to the current situation and said, “See? Deebo Samuel is that important. You need him.”

Granted, it might not have impacted the overall length or total amount of a pending deal. Yet it’s possible this impacted the $58.1 million in guaranteed money the All-Pro will receive over the course of the new contract. Historically, the 49ers have been shy about dishing out hefty guarantees in player contracts, but they effectively changed that stance in light of Samuel’s importance.

One that has been magnified over the first week of camp.