49ers HC Kyle Shanahan Says Deebo Still Has the Burst He Needs

Good grief.

Nov 10, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. (1) stiff arms Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Josh Hayes (32) during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Deebo Samuel is not having a good season.

When the 49ers throw him the ball, their quarterback rating is just 89.2. And when they hand him the ball, he averages a mere 2.9 yards per carry. He's an inefficient player. They should be phasing him out.

Instead, they keep looking for ways to get him more involved.

"I think he has the burst that he needs," Kyle Shanahan said. "He didn't get a lot of opportunities last night. He had a pretty good kick return that I thought would've changed the huge momentum of the game, unfortunately it got called back with that holding call. I thought he had a good screen. And then the two plays he's got to do, he’s got to catch both of those balls and if he catches both of those balls he's got a chance to do what he's good at after that and run with it. And he didn't get that opportunity because he didn't catch both those balls. So, if he does then that would be two more opportunities. And as far as anyone, we didn't get anybody going in that game. We weren't consistent and we didn't participate very much in the first half and the second half with those turnovers and everything just killing our drives. I think we had a total of 50-something plays but we really weren't able to stay out there consistently enough to get any player going."

Sounds like Shanahan thinks Samuel needs more opportunities, not fewer.

Good grief.

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