The Deebo Samuel drama has taken another turn.
Hours after ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported that Samuel told him he has requested a trade from the 49ers, the star receiver took to Twitter himself to try to set the record straight ... before deleting the post less than an hour later.
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Well, that certainly explains everything.
In all seriousness, Samuel’s cryptic tweet and then subsequent deletion could mean something, or could mean nothing at all when it comes down to what’s going on behind the scenes. Samuel clearly is upset with the 49ers over the current state of contract negotiations, but it’s tough to pinpoint exactly when his discontent began or why this is the case.
Samuel is eligible for a lucrative contract extension this offseason and has seen star receivers Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill and Stefon Diggs receive hefty paydays. It seems likely that Samuel will command a contract between $22 and $24 million per season, and all indications are that the 49ers are willing to shell out the money to keep him in San Francisco.
“We’ve had good communication with Tory [Dandy] who represents Deebo and Bryan Ayrault who represents Nick,” Lynch said last month when discussing potential contract extensions for Samuel and pass rusher Nick Bosa. “We have a plan for each of those guys. We will keep those discussions private but like I’ve long said, those guys are going to be a part of us for a long, long time.
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"They’re fantastic players. They are very much at the core of who we are and they are fabulous players, fabulous people and a big part of who we are.”
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However, multiple reports indicated that Samuel is frustrated by his usage as a “wide back” and wants to play more as a traditional receiver going forward.
The 49ers now are tasked with trying to mend the relationship with Samuel or attempting to trade him for a haul of draft picks.
Time will tell which route they take, but in the meantime, we're stuck analyzing cryptic tweets.