San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel has had a rough year on the field. Despite this, he has still felt the need to make headlines off the field. That continued with his latest social media complaint that he is not getting the ball enough.
Samuel made the following post on the social media platform X:
Not struggling at all just not getting the ball!!!!!!! 🤷🏾♂️
— Deebo (@19problemz) December 9, 2024
The 2021 first-team All-Pro claims that he is not struggling this season, he is just not getting the ball.
That claim is a little suspect. He caught the ball two times on three targets in San Francisco's dominant performance against the Chicago Bears in Week 14. He did also carry the ball five times for a measly 13 yards in the contest.
Samuel's receiving numbers are not far off from where they have been in the past. Thus far he has 40 receptions on 60 targets for 553 yards and only one touchdown catch. Last season he had 892 receiving yards on 60 receptions. His average of 13.8 yards per reception this season is not drastically different from his average of 14.9 yards in the 2023 campaign.
Where there has been a noticeable decline in his game has been as a rusher. This season, he has 32 rushes for 92 yards. That makes for a dismal average of 2.9 yards per carry. Compare that to his 225 rushing yards on 37 attempts in 2023 for an average of 6.1 yards per carry, and it is clear there have been some struggles.
The six-year veteran is no stranger to taking to social media when he is not getting what he wants. Wide receivers are notorious for being peacocks, and Samuel is certainly no exception. The fact that he has decided to take to social media now, as the Niners cling to a shred of hope to make the playoffs, is a baffling move.
It is not the kind of move one would expect from a veteran and purported leader of the team. It is the kind of behavior that could lead the Niners to trade him this offseason. Head coach Kyle Shanahan is not a big fan of drama, so this sort of public airing of greivances which he will inevitably be asked about must drive him nuts.
Samuel's lackluster play already made it seem like a possibility that the Niners would move on from him. But if one adds in his complaints about targets and very public calling out of Jake Moody during the kicker's rought game against Tampa Bay, it seems like Samuel's play is not up to the level where these distractions can be tolerated.
We will see if Samuel gets the ball more in Week 15 against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.