Samuel appears to have lost weight during the offseason, Nick Wagoner of The Athletic reports. Samuel presumably can drop some pounds and still be by far the most powerful ballcarrier among NFL wide receivers. Assuming the weight loss was intentional, he's likely trying to improve his agility and route running, which could allow him to have more impact catching passes downfield. Samuel drew just 26 targets 10-plus yards downfield last season, compared to 46 during his 2021 breakout campaign (per PFF). He'll perhaps always be most dangerous as a runner and short-pass YAC threat, but efficiency on the deeper targets hasn't been a problem, so there's arguably still room for volume growth there. The issue, more so than Samuel's skill set, is that he's competing for touches in an offense that also WR Brandon Aiyuk, TE George Kittle and RB Christian McCaffrey. While Aiyuk may not be practicing amidst contract frustration/negotiations, it still seems more likely than not he'll be on the field for San Francisco come Week 1.
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Samuel appears to have lost weight during the offseason, Nick Wagoner of The Athletic reports. Samuel presumably can drop some pounds and still be by far the most powerful ballcarrier among NFL wide receivers. Assuming the weight loss was intentional, he's likely trying to improve his agility and route running, which could allow him to have more impact catching passes downfield. Samuel drew just 26 targets 10-plus yards downfield last season, compared to 46 during his 2021 breakout campaign (per PFF). He'll perhaps always be most dangerous as a runner and short-pass YAC threat, but efficiency on the deeper targets hasn't been a problem, so there's arguably still room for volume growth there. The issue, more so than Samuel's skill set, is that he's competing for touches in an offense that also WR Brandon Aiyuk, TE George Kittle and RB Christian McCaffrey. While Aiyuk may not be practicing amidst contract frustration/negotiations, it still seems more likely than not he'll be on the field for San Francisco come Week 1.
Samuel wasn't traded during the 2024 NFL Draft and now seems likely to stay with the 49ers for at least one more season, ESPN.com's Nick Wagoner reports. The 49ers selected WRs in Rounds 1 (Ricky Pearsall) and 4 (Jacob Cowing), and while they reportedly fielded trade offers for both Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, nothing ever came to fruition. It now seems more likely that the WR group will undergo significant changes next offseason, at which point Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings are scheduled for unrestricted free agency and Samuel will have just one year remaining on his contract (with no guaranteed money). A contract extension for Aiyuk in the coming weeks/months would further increase speculation about Samuel eventually being the odd man out.
The Patriots and Bills have interest in trading for Samuel, Michael Giardi of Boston Sports Journal reports. There's been a lot of trade chatter around Samuel's teammate, Brandon Aiyuk, but Giardi reports Samuel is "more likely to be traded" and has a couple interested suitors in Buffalo and New England. Both offenses are in dire need of wideout help, and the Bills (33rd overall) and Patriots (34th) hold picks atop the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday night. Samuel has two years left on his contract but has been more prone to injuries throughout his career, missing six regular-season games and parts of several others across the last two seasons. Aiyuk, meanwhile, is coming off a career year and a second consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season. The Niners used their first-round pick Thursday night on Florida WR Ricky Pearsall, further fueling trade chatter on the team's veteran wideouts.
Samuel's four catches in his first action since Week 6 ranked second on the team behind Christian McCaffrey's six. The versatile receiver's biggest play came on the ground, though, as Samuel produced a 23-yard touchdown run to give the 49ers a 27-3 lead in the third quarter. Samuel has one receiving touchdown and two rushing scores through seven appearances, and he appears healthy heading into a Week 11 home game against the Buccaneers.
The 49ers won't have to reveal their first Week 10 practice report until Wednesday, but because of its Week 9 bye, the team was able to get an early start on prepping for Sunday's game against the Jaguars. Based on video provided by Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com during the portion of Monday's session that was open to the media, Samuel was in uniform and appeared to be moving at full speed while running routes, a sign that he could be ready to return to action this weekend following a two-game absence due to a hairline fracture of his left shoulder. Samuel's potential return would provide a lift to a struggling 49ers offense that was held to 17 points in each of its last three games before the bye week.