Adam Schefter Says Deebo Samuel Doesn't Want to Sign Extension With 49ers Right Now
Oh boy, we've got a bit of "hard ball" going on here with the 49ers and Deebo Samuel.
Adam Schefter dropped a whirlwind of news Tuesday on ESPN's NFL Live show regarding negotiations for an extension between the 49ers and Samuel.
“Listen, San Francisco wants to pay Deebo Samuel," said Schefter. "But Deebo Samuel was the one who scrubbed the 49ers logo off his social media page. Deebo Samuel was the one that essentially, basically admitted that he wanted to move on. San Francisco would pay Deebo Samuel today, tomorrow, the next day, it's not hard to figure out what the contract would look like. We've seen some of the top numbers in the league This I think right now is Deebo Samuel not wanting to get a deal done. It's not San Francisco not willing to do the deal. The 49ers are ready, Deebo Samuel is the one that's put a halt to everything for right now."
So this whole time, the holdup to getting an extension done IS NOT the 49ers, but Samuel, according to Schefter. Look, this isn't absolute, but Schefter's words cannot be downplayed here. If he says something, it is because he heard it from someone or people within the 49ers' organization. So him dropping this new information today is, at the very least, the perspective of the 49ers. It possibly is even their way of "damage control" to prevent being painted as the "bad guy" in this.
This entire time, the belief of why the extension was not gaining any traction was due to how the 49ers operate. They slow played an extension with both George Kittle and Fred Warner, so they definitely weren't going to change their process for Samuel. But it turns out that it is the 49ers who have been ready and waiting for Samuel, while he is the one that is stalling negotiations.
Everything gets turned upside down if this is the full truth of it.
And if Samuel really is holding it up, then I would imagine it is because he wants D.K. Metcalf and A.J. Brown to get signed first so that he can then one-up them with a greater extension. Samuel's agent, Tordy Dandy, just got his client Denzel Ward of the Browns the greatest contract in cornerback history. Dandy could be advising Samuel, or perhaps they both know they want to wait, to hold off until all the other contracts are done to maximize the amount of money coming his way. Wouldn't be a bad tactic at all as players and agents do this all time. They wait until another player gets their extension first before wanting to sign one knowing there is a difference in money.
You just have to wonder why Samuel is removing anything 49ers related from his social media page if he really is the one stalling out negotiations. Perhaps just for the attention?
Whatever the case may be, this whole extension just got a whole lot more dramatic.