In recent days, there has been more and more chatter about former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel returning to the team. He’s a free agent, and recent social media activity suggests he’s not drawing a ton of interest.
There have been posts about the shape he’s in and how good he looks, but some recent reporting on Samuel’s reaction to the Niners signing Mike Evans should completely shut the door on a reunion if it’s true.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area said the following about Samuel:
“Here’s what I know about it. I do think Deebo had an interest in returning to the 49ers and was maybe even a little miffed that the 49ers so quickly signed Mike Evans as a free agent… I do think Deebo would have liked the opportunity to be back with the 49ers. The 49ers moved on without him and I think he and Kyle Shanahan spoke about that after the fact.”
What? Deebo is upset the Niners signed one of the best veteran wide receivers in the game? Oh, and he’s mad the Niners didn’t want him back a year after he requested to be traded from the team?
That’s just absolutely ludicrous if it's true. We all know Samuel has diva tendencies. The whole way he went about demanding a contract extension after his huge year in 2021 looks like nothing compared to the way Brandon Aiyuk has conducted himself the last few years, but it was still overly dramatic and centered on himself.
During his last season with the Niners, one of the last things he did was demand that he get thrown the ball more and then proceeded to have a very public and embarrassing drop against the Los Angeles Rams when San Francisco was still technically alive in the playoff hunt.
The two sides obviously left on fairly good terms, as Samuel requested a trade and the Niners granted it to him without too much fanfare. He penned an emotional farewell to the organization, and it was clear there was still a lot of love on both sides.
Now that Samuel is apparently mad the Niners have Evans, it’s sort of like when someone decides to end things with their partner, and things end amicably since both people knew it had run its course, but then a year later, they’re with someone else and the person who dumped them is jealous.
This shows that Samuel still has delusions that he’s a No. 1 wide receiver. If he thinks he’s just as good as Evans, then Deebo really needs to have a reality check because he is a No. 3 wide receiver at best at this point in his career.
The 49ers have had far too much wide receiver drama this decade between Samuel and Aiyuk. If Samuel wanted to come back and be a role player or just a veteran presence to help teach young players like De’Zhaun Stribling, that would be great, but it’s clear he still thinks he’s an elite player.
Evans is as professional and humble as they come, and he is not going to start any drama this season, so the 49ers would be wise to stay far away from Samuel since it seems like he does not quite have a realistic grasp on where he’s at in his career.
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