49ers receiver Deebo Samuel stepped up his workout regimen this offseason, determined to improve upon what he considered a disappointing 2022 NFL season.
He apparently kept Kyle Shanahan in the loop by sending him shirtless photos to track his fitness progress and was hilariously called out by his coach Tuesday in a press conference on the day before training camp officially began.
"Kyle is funny, man. We were just chopping it up," Samuel told reporters at training camp Wednesday. "I told him what my goal was coming back. He had seen that video of the one I put on Instagram of me catching the ball. He was like, ‘Yeah, that’s what I like to see.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, whatever, you know.’ Just joking a bit."
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"Never had a grown man send me so many pictures with his shirt off," Shanahan said Tuesday of Samuel.
Samuel told the media during mandatory minicamp in June that he looked "sluggish" and was "awful" in 2022, citing his contract negotiations last summer as a reason for why he didn't meet his expectations.
He did have a down season by his standards. In 13 games, Samuel logged 864 total yards and five total touchdowns, a disappointing encore to his All-Pro 2021 campaign when he registered 1,770 total yards and 14 touchdowns the year before.
San Francisco 49ers
Samuel is confident he'll find his 2021 form again. Just look at Shanahan's camera roll for proof.