Deebo Samuel’s apparent discontent with contract talks — or lack thereof — does not change anything on the 49ers’ side.
CEO Jed York, general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan have all made it known recently that they aim to keep Samuel with the 49ers for a long time.
While Shanahan does not get involved in the contract negotiations and recognizes the complexities of such discussions, he said he fully expects chief negotiator Paraag Marathe to work with Samuel’s agent, Tory Dandy, to arrive at a solution that works for both sides.
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And the same goes for the less-pressing matter of a second contract for defensive end Nick Bosa.
“We need to figure it out,” Shanahan said two weeks ago at the NFL Annual Meeting in Palm Beach Florida.
“Those are guys who have earned a lot, and two guys that I hope are with the Niners forever — or at least as long as I’m here.”
In addition to Samuel being the player he trusts the most to fill a variety of roles, Shanahan has a deep appreciation for his multi-dimensional wide receiver as a person.
During the season, Samuel would make frequent visits to Shanahan’s office to discuss his role in the upcoming game plan and to discuss life, in general.
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Samuel described his relationship with Shanahan in an interview with NBC Sports Bay Area this offseason. Samuel said they talk abut “literally everything.”
“I think because he’s a head coach, certain guys go to work and say hi to Kyle, and that's it,” Samuel said. “I actually go into his office every Monday and Tuesday and we just talk about the game, the game plan, and then we go off and talk about how his kids are doing and how my son is doing. It’s a relationship that’s been built over time.”
At a time when wide receivers, such as Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams and Stefon Diggs, have cashed in with lucrative contracts, Samuel would appear to be among the next in line to be compensated.
Samuel is in a similar situation this offseason to what George Kittle and Fred Warner experienced the past two years.
None of those players was a first-round draft pick. Each individual performed at a level that greatly exceeded his contract. Drafted players are allowed to negotiate new contracts after three seasons. Samuel is scheduled to nearly $4 million this season -- at least five times less than his apparent market value.
Kittle’s agent expressed some level of frustration with the slow-moving talks throughout the 2020 offseason. The 49ers eventually made Kittle the league’s highest-paid tight end with a contract agreed upon in mid-August.
Fred Warner became the highest-paid linebacker in the NFL with his extension in mid-July of last year. Darius Leonard’s deal three weeks later with the Indianapolis Colts surpassed him.
Samuel apparently would like his contract wrapped up sooner than later. That seems to be the signal he sent recently with his scrub of social media content that connects him to the 49ers.
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But the 49ers have never felt an urgency to get big-money contract extensions completed far in advance of training camp.
All indications are that the 49ers plan to keep Samuel around for a long time with a contract that satisfies both sides.
It just might take a little while to get there.