49ers' Kyle Shanahan Doesn't Think Deebo Samuel has "Slowed Down"

I beg to differ.

Dec 8, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. (1) walks on the field before the start of the game against the Chicago Bears at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Deebo Samuel has been a punching bag ever since the 49ers were defeated by the Rams.

He has no one to blame for himself for the tsunami of criticism flooding his way. Before the 49ers played the Rams, Samuel took to social media to complain about not getting the ball. When he finally got those opportunities against the Rams, he squandered them.

2024 has been a mediocre one for Samuel. He's shown signs of regression and is more of a negative than a positive for the 49ers. However, Kyle Shanahan pushes back on that narrative. He came to Samuel's defense on Wednesday saying he doesn't think Samuel has "slowed down" this season.

“I don't think Deebo’s slowed down," Shanahan said. "I think he got banged up earlier in the year. I thought he had an awesome training camp to where I'd say he didn't slow down at all. We were real excited going into the year and I want to say it was Week Two he got hurt in. I think Week Two versus Minnesota, he had over 100 yards and then we didn't get him versus the Rams. I don't know if he missed two games or one, but it set him back for a few weeks and then when he came back he had pneumonia, he had a rib thing.

"I think that set him off for like a month where he couldn't practice as much. When you build up a bunch in camp and then you miss a lot of time in practice it is hard to maintain that stuff. But by no means do I think he's lost it or anything. Then his looks haven't been quite as good this year, just like for everybody. When the 10 guys around you aren't doing quite as good, whether it's him, whether it's the quarterback, whether it's O-Line, you're not going to do as good as you did the year before.”

Shanahan brings up some excellent and fair points about Samuel's performance this year. Injuries early in the season and having pneumonia for a few days set Samuel back. It absolutely factors into his slump this year. However, I still beg to differ that he hasn't slowed down a bit.

Samuel hasn't dealt with injuries for a while now and the pneumonia incident was two months ago. He should have found his stride by now but hasn't. He simply isn't that explosive player anymore. Sure, the plays for him aren't always perfect, but he always had the ability to turn something out of nothing.

That is why all the 49ers had to do was give him the ball and let him work. He literally can make magic when given the opportunity. That isn't the case anymore. Now, if the blocks are perfectly set up, he's going to register a negative play. He provides nothing positive to the offense anymore.

It's good for Shanahan to stiff-arm the criticism of Shanahan, but hopefully, that is nothing more than public jargon. Samuel can't be the focal point in the offense any longer. It's time to consider moving on in the offseason and look to others.

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