It is no secret that wide receiver Deebo Samuel wants out of San Francisco, but his beef with the Niners reportedly has nothing to do with head coach Kyle Shanahan. This does beg the question of what his primary beef with the team is.
Per Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard on social media with regard to Samuel’s request to be traded, “This is obviously not shocking news. The relationship hasn’t been great for a while — except for Deebo and Shanahan. Production changes everything, and Deebo didn’t produce in 2024. He’s ready for something new. So are the 49ers.”
Kawakami reports that the relationship between Shanahan and Deebo remains good, which is consistent with the statement Deebo made to ESPN’s Adam Schefter when he initially requested the trade: “It was a hard conversation to have with Kyle because of the relationship that we have. But I have to do what’s best. I’m more than thankful for the Niners giving me the opportunity of a lifetime, but now I think it’s best that we find another team.”
So if Samuel and Shanahan are on good terms, then who is Samuel upset with?
One has to imagine it is the front office. Samuel did restructure his contract last year which caused his base salary to plummet. Deebo still received the money he was owed, but perhaps part of him was annoyed that he had to restructure things.
Also, the South Carolina native may have seen the writing on the wall with other veteran players like fullback Kyle Juszcyzk and defensive lineman Arik Armstead being asked to take a pay cut last offseason. Samuel may have refused a pay cut so he would rather just be traded before he is asked to play for less money.
It does not seem like Samuel’s beef has to do with any players on the team. He has remained adamant in his support of quarterback Brock Purdy. Perhaps he just really got sick and tired of kicker Jake Moody missing kicks.
Nonetheless, Samuel wants out of San Francisco. We will see if the Niners are able to trade him or if they will be forced to cut him, but it will hurt either way to see a guy who played so well for San Francisco play for another team especially when they were unable to win a Super Bowl while he was on the team.
Yet, football is a business so ultimately that is how it goes. At least Samuel and Shanahan will not leave on bad terms with one another.
