Richard Sherman Defends Deebo Samuel's Sideline Confrontation

Former 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman weighs in on the sideline confrontation between Deebo Samuel, Taybor Pepper, and Jake Moody.

Aug 19, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Richard Sherman on the Amazon Prime Thursday Night Football set before the game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Houston Texans at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The San Francisco 49ers usually aren't a confrontational team to each other.

Nothing has gone down between players whether it was physical or verbal altercations under Kyle Shanahan. However, that changed in Week 10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Deebo Samuel got into a confrontation with kicker Jake Moody and long snapper Taybor Pepper.

It seems that Samuel was growing fed up with the missed field goals, which is justifiable. Supposedly Samuel told Moody to "Lock in" and Pepper took an exception to that. He wanted to defend his kicker since they are special teams buddies. It may seem like a bad look, but that isn't at all how former 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman sees it.

"When Deebo Samuel goes up to him and says 'Lock in' and apparently that's what he said, you don't defend him from that," Sherman said. "You don't get to defend him from accountability from the team. If I give up a touchdown pass and one of my teammates is like 'Come on. Lock in now.' Somebody is not gonna come in and save me."

"You don't get to defend him from accountability"@RSherman_25 reacts to Deebo Samuel confronting Jake Moody after the kicker missed 3 FGs vs. the Buccaneers pic.twitter.com/D3tpVmBglb

— Richard Sherman Podcast (@RShermanPodcast) November 11, 2024

Sherman defends Samuel's sideline confrontation and rightfully so. For starters, any opinion he has is completely valid. He was with the 49ers for a few years and knows Samuel. He knows the culture and standards of the team. Plus, he is a future Hall of Fame player who has won a Super Bowl.

His words are needed for crucial context. Seeing players go at it on the sideline is a rare occurrence for the 49ers under Shanahan. It shows that frustrations can no longer be kept bottled up when things are going wrong. But Sherman believes that it was necessary to do so and that no one should feel overly upset about it.

"You gotta be tough," said Sherman. "This is the National Football League. Do your job and that's what Deebo Samuel was coming to say. This is a high-level football team. This is a team that's been to Super Bowls. There's a standard of play and to miss three field goals after all the work that goes into those drives and to get the ball down the field -- you gotta make the kicks. This game should not have been this close."

You have to wonder how this will impact the 49ers moving forward. Is it nothing? Or something that they display again? Only time will tell if they end up in similar struggling position.