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Former 49ers WR Deebo Samuel Says He'll be Motivated on Commanders

Before the 49ers could break up with Deebo Samuel, he broke up with them.

Grant Cohn

Dec 30, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. (1) celebrates after a play during the first quarter against the Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images
Dec 30, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. (1) celebrates after a play during the first quarter against the Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images
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Before the 49ers could break up with Deebo Samuel, he broke up with them.

For all of 2024, Samuel was a drain on the 49ers' offense. In retrospect, they should have benched him halfway through the season. Instead, they kept feeding and feeding him just to keep him happy. And yet, after the season he requested a trade, a request the 49ers eventually honored by sending him to the Washington Commanders. Good luck, Deebo.

At his introductory press conference this week, Samuel was asked why he's eager to play for the Commanders.

“I like winners," Samuel said. "I like to win. I’m not one of your biggest losers. They went to the NFC Championship. I’ve been knowing Adam Peters for a while. And it’s close to home.”

Samuel also was asked what he'll bring to Washington's team.

"One, they’re getting a motivated Deebo," he said. "Two, you’re going to get a dog out here. I’m ready to come in here and work."

I take issue with a couple things Samuel said.

One, he makes it seem like he wanted off the 49ers because they started losing, as if he wasn't a major reason for their downturn. In reality, he most likely wanted off the 49ers because he was getting phased out.

Two, he said the Commanders are getting a motivated Deebo. Does that mean the 49ers didn't get a motivated Deebo the past few years? What does it take for Deebo to feel motivated?

I'm flabbergasted.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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