Deebo Samuel's Commanders resurgence justifies his decision to leave 49ers

While the San Francisco 49ers traded Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders this past March, it was pretty clear during the 2024 offseason that San Francisco was preparing for life without him.

For starters, the Niners used the No. 31 overall pick in the '24 draft to select wideout Ricky Pearsall. A little over a month later, they signed Jauan Jennings to a two-year extension. And a few months after that, they made Brandon Aiyuk one of the highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL, inking the 2023 second-team All-Pro selection to a four-year, $120 million extension.

So, the writing was on the wall.

What's wild, though, is that despite Pearsall missing six games after being freaking shot, Aiyuk appearing in just seven games before tearing an ACL, and running back Christian McCaffrey missing all but four games with various injuries, Samuel had one of the worst overall seasons of his career, gaining just 806 total yards from scrimmage and scoring just four touchdowns, both marks being personal lows, save for the 2020 campaign in which he appeared in only seven games.

Clearly not thrilled with how he was being used in the Niners' offense, Deebo asked for a trade in his exit interview with head coach Kyle Shanahan following the season, and his wish was granted. It's interesting to note that he had only four fewer touches in 2024 than he did in 2023 but gained 311 fewer yards, but we'll just go ahead and let that go.

Truth be told, the deal is actually working out nicely for both sides. In his first three outings with the Commanders, Samuel looks like he's playing with much more determination than he did in his final season in San Francisco.

And he's certainly getting the attention he wanted.

Deebo Samuel trade is working out well for all parties involved

During Washington's 2-1 start, Samuel has been the team's most targeted receiver (21)—yes, even more than Terry McLaurin (17)—and has tallied a team-high 16 receptions for 132 yards and a touchdown. And his targets will likely go up even more, with McLaurin suffering a quad injury this past Sunday in the Commanders' win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Deebo has also added another 37 yards and a score on four carries as a rusher, and his 20 total touches rank second on the team behind only running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt. Furthermore, Samuel has even regained his magic touch as a kickoff returner, leading the league with a 36.8-yard average in that regard, a number aided by a 69-yard return against the Raiders.

So, Deebo is off to a fine start and clearly got what he wanted with a bigger role in Washington.

As for the Niners, the trade honestly looked like a bit of a mistake for a while, as the team dealt with (and continues to deal with) several injuries at the wide receiver position. The loss of tight end George Kittle in Week 1 certainly didn't help matters.

That said, though, several players have simply stepped up, none more so than Pearsall, who's off to a fantastic start and ranks third among all pass catchers in the NFL with 281 yards through the first three weeks of the year, trailing only Puka Nacua (333) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (323). McCaffrey has also taken on more of a receiving role thus far, recording a team-high 25 receptions for 213 yards during the 49ers' 3-0 start.

Sadly, we won't see Samuel take the field against his former club in 2025, as the Niners and Commanders aren't scheduled to play one another—at least not during the regular season, that is.

Perhaps we'll see these two teams square off come January.