Jerry Rice Tore Into Deebo Samuel Over His Brutal Drop in 49ers' Loss to Rams

The 49ers' legend was not impressed.
Jerry Rice was not impressed with Deebo Samuel's play in last Thursday's loss to the Rams.
Jerry Rice was not impressed with Deebo Samuel's play in last Thursday's loss to the Rams. / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
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San Francisco 49ers star wide receiver Deebo Samuel made public complaints last week about not getting enough touches. Then he went out against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night and touched one pass a few times before watching it fall to the ground for one of the worst dropped passes of the season.

The 49ers ended up losing to the Rams, 12-6, to fall to 6-8 on the season. This year has been a brutal one for the defending NFC champs as they've been banged up with serious injuries to key players and have poor performances from guys like Samuel who they've depended on in recent seasons.

49ers great Jerry Rice wasn't impressed with Samuel's dropped pass, especially after he complained about a lack of touches.

"I don't know what is going on, because the weirdest thing is I think he had like three catches for 16 yards ... for me, I would have been pissed," Rice said Monday during an appearance on 95.7 The Game's "The Morning Roast." I would have been pissed at myself, I would have been pissed at the whole scenario, and I would pretty much go to work on the football field, at practice. And if you do it during practice, you're going to be able to do it during the game."

Rice didn't stop there:

"That ball that he dropped, after you complain about not getting that many touches, you cannot drop the football. Because everybody is going to get down on you and they're going to come after you. I never said anything about not getting touches or anything like that. I just worked, man. I just kept working, and if you show it during practice, they're going to make the call during the actual football game where you're going to have opportunities, where you can make catches, get into a rhythm and be productive."

Samuel and 49ers will look to get back on track when they host the Dolphins this Sunday.


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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.