Trade rumors be damned. Deebo Samuel is a San Francisco 49er for the long haul.
The wide receiver agreed to a three-year, $73.5 million extension over the weekend. He’ll receive $58.1 million in guaranteed money, an interesting caveat given questions about his future workload. He attracted 121 targets in 2021, resulting in 77 catches, 1,405 yards, and six touchdowns. On the ground, he rushed 65 times for 365 yards and eight scores. His contract negotiations revealed he’d like to see less snaps out of the backfield, but head coach Kyle Shanahan may not abandon the tactic that skyrocketed his offense’s efficiency.
With Trey Lance named the starting quarterback, Samuel will likely see more downfield routes, too. Turning to Lance and retaining Samuel means the San Francisco offense will have an extremely high ceiling in 2022. If you believe he’s in for a repeat performance, at least through the air, you should consider taking FanDuel‘s -112 odds on Samuel surpassing 950.5 receiving yards.