Deebo Samuel may be playing his way out of the 49ers’ long-term plans

The San Francisco 49ers are having a bad season. With a record of 5-6 and likely missing the playoffs, there’s plenty of blame to go around.

One player receiving a lot of criticism is wide receiver Deebo Samuel, whose issues put his future with the team in question.

Samuel has had some tough games lately, taking few balls for not very many yards in San Francisco’s last two losses. He only had 43 yards in the last two games, which you just wouldn’t expect from a star receiver like him.

Of course, part of that may be due to quarterback Brock Purdy being injured and unable to play against the Green Bay Packers in Week 12 with quarterback Brandon Allen filling in. However, there is still a feeling that Deebo should do more. He definitely deserves at least a little blame for Allen’s interception, which went right through Deebo’s hands and into the hands of a Packers defender.

Legendary former 49er Brent Jones didn’t mince his words when discussing Deebo’s lackluster recent games. And the thought has also emerged that the second-round draft pick from South Carolina could be a possible 2025 cap casualty.

There is also a narrative emerging that Samuel no longer has the same speed and quickness as he once did. Over the course of his career, we’ve become accustomed to the multi-purpose weapon blowing away defenders with the ball in his hands. Fans have grown accustomed to plays like the 46-yard touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles last year.

Whether that assessment is unfair or not, it seems clear that Samuel is no longer as dangerous playing the ball as he was in the past. He only has 79 rushing yards on 27 carries this year.

That’s a far cry from the 225 yards on 37 carries he had last season.

There is no simple explanation for this decline. He’s 28 years old now, so perhaps it’s only natural that he doesn’t have the same success as he did as a younger player. Samuel has missed games this year due to injury, so it’s entirely possible he’s dealing with aches and pains and isn’t as effective.

Either way, the Niners need to evaluate whether Deebo is the same weapon he used to be on offense. Perhaps the Niners will have to make the difficult decision to move on from Samuel, just like the Golden State Warriors moved on from fan favorite Klay Thompson. So far, Golden State has improved compared to last year, so San Francisco may need a similar overhaul on offense.

Samuel has long been a great player for the 49ers, but his struggles could force general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan to make a difficult decision regarding one of the team’s most popular players.

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