Getty Deebo Samuel carries the ball against the Dallas Cowboys.
Deebo Samuel perplexed some people when the word “usage” was tossed in on why he became disgruntled with the San Francisco 49ers, helping culminate in his trade demand on Wednesday, April 20 per ESPN’s Jeff Darlington.
Samuel made his mark last season as one of the few who could damage a defense on routes and handoffs. Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network mentioned the usage dilemma on The Rich Eisen Show on Wednesday — saying “It sounds like there’s multiple layers to this, but certainly one of them is Deebo Samuel wants to be a receiver and not a receiver/running back.”
The Athletic’s 49ers insider David Lombardi brought up the usage aspect:
Deebo Samuel had the most drops (12) in the NFL last season. It’s his ability to demolish defenders in space — as both a WR and RB —that’s made him so valuable.
That value has been unlocked by Shanahan’s usage, but Samuel now says he has concerns with that usage
Finally, NFL Network data science and analytics expert Cynthia Frelund posted a telling notation from Next Gen Stats that shows Samuel seeing an increase in alignment percentage in the backfield compared to his snaps as a slot receiver.
The “U” word became a hot topic attached to Samuel. Some online fans and pundits have been left confused by this reasoning. However, one past NFL defender shared how he understood Samuel’s argument.
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Former 2nd Rounder Says it’s ‘Smart Move on His Part’
Former second round safety and All Pac-12 first team selection in 2014 Su’a Cravens is a defender of the All-Pro.
Cravens’ career was shortened due to concussions. The Ex-Washington Commanders and Denver Broncos safety last played in the 2019 season. But Cravens believes that Samuel is being smart about why he’s brought up the “usage” aspect.
“Deebo knows there’s zero longevity in how he played last year. I’m surprised Percy Harvin did it for so long before he started suffering injuries. No way Deebo can keep taking that beating regardless of how versatile he is. Smart move on his part, fans not gone like it though,” was what Cravens tweeted out.
Reaction to Cravens’ Reasoning
A tweet like this led to an online user agree to disagree bombardment toward the former USC Trojan.
One fan responded by saying “The ‘toughest’ players are usually the ones with the most messed up bodies. Sadly what looks cool on TV and most beloved by fans are always to the detriment of someone’s health,” in Cravens’ Twitter mentions.
Another fan, this one of the 49ers, believed that a chat with head coach Kyle Shanahan can resolve this dispute.
“He can do that here. Last season was atypical due to the RB injuries then it continued cuz he was so effective. Seems like a chat with Shanahan resolves this. Gotta be more to this,” was what the fan posted to Cravens.
However, one fan told Cravens that Samuel’s dual-threat capability made him more valuable to the 49ers.
“This is the first time in history that a WR complained about getting the ball too much. The dual threat nature makes him more valuable though. As only a receiver alone, he wouldn’t be getting (Davante) Adams or (Tyreek) Hill money,” the fan shared.
The word “usage” linked to Samuel and the 49ers’ offense created a chaos of conversation and confusion by some. But in the case of Cravens, he corresponds with Samuel.