Getty Deebo Samuel runs the ball versus the Vikings on November 28, 2021.
Is the clock ticking on Deebo Samuel and the San Francisco 49ers?
With the 2022 NFL draft quickly approaching on April 28, plus the 49ers already thinking about who to add to the 2022 roster through their nine selections from rounds two to seven, the All-Pro Samuel is still without a contract extension.
The 49ers, notably general manager John Lynch, insisted immediately after the season that Samuel would be getting a long term deal to become a 49er for the long haul. One longtime Bay Area columnist for The Athletic, however, mentioned the “worst case scenario” on Thursday, April 14 involving both parties and a pivotal date for both Samuel and the franchise.
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The Key Deadline
April 28: The date Tim Kawakami identified as “the real Deebo deadline.”
Why that day, which happens to land on day one of the draft?
“If the 49ers aren’t prepared to eventually pay Deebo at or near the top of the WR market,” wrote Kawakami, “I believe he’ll be traded before April 28, the first round of the draft, for a package that would include a first-round pick in this draft that the 49ers would immediately use on a WR.”
What’s the confidence level from Kawakami that a deal could be made?
“I don’t expect that, though,” Kawakami said.
But, “If the 49ers trade Deebo, that’s a surrender, the likes of which we have not previously seen from the Shanahan/Lynch duo. A total surrender.”
And if Samuel remains a 49er by that deadline Kawakami mentioned, what happens next for him and the 49ers’ brass?
“But if Deebo is still on this roster at the end of April 28, I believe that’ll be a large hint that the 49ers feel like they can and will get this done. That they know what it’ll take to sign him and they are prepared to pay it. Maybe not anytime soon, but by the first camp practice.”
There’s also this added scenario: Kawakami says Samuel’s situation could spill over to Nick Bosa and his own extension talks. The prized edge rusher from the 2019 class (same class as Samuel) was also mentioned as one who was going to earn a hefty payday for being a “pillar” to the 49ers as Lynch described him.
And one more thing to add, there’s still the Jimmy Garoppolo situation and whether or not the 49ers still want to deal him away.
Fellow Insider Dives Into Samuel’s Impact
Kawakami’s Athletic colleague David Lombardi not only wrote about what the potential price ceiling is for Samuel ($25 million annually), but he dove into one past negotiation period that could lead to the conclusion of the Samuel contract talks.
In his Thursday feature, Lombardi took a trip to the past involving a near similar situation George Kittle faced and drew the parallels between that and Samuel:
“Remember that Jack Bechta, George Kittle’s agent, openly used analytics in negotiations to illustrate his client’s versatile worth with the 49ers two seasons ago. History should now be repeating itself with Samuel, whose worth to the 49ers is related to Kittle’s, thanks in large part to how the team’s offense is built.”
Lombardi also launched some tweets to back his claim:
So Deebo Samuel has 3 seasons under his belt. 2 have been very productive; 1 of those was sensational. The outlier season featured a broken foot in the offseason leading up to it, which led to conditioning challenges.
Those are the facts
In short, Deebo absolutely has résumé necessary to fairly demand a big contract this offseason. 49ers absolutely have the time and leverage necessary to not rush that.
This shares so much in common with George Kittle’s 2020 situation, ultimately resolved by deadline pressure