I've been trying to think back to when we met with him at
the Super Bowl. I got no indication. There was any
acrimony. He talked about his contract agreed. No, leave that
to col Shanahan agents,
you know, no sense. No pause, no. Hesitation. No tells no
ticks know anything.
Now now
I am
something's going on. Something is, you know, shaft. He said
something yesterday and I still can't make 100% Percent clear
sense of what he's saying. But the takeaway I think is
as of right now Debo don't want to talk and they pissed him
off. I think that's the way I look at it. They've pissed him
off whether it was their initial offer, whether it was
how they moved. Once negotiations began
something pissed him off and caused him to shut it down and
that's what prompted the removal of all 49ers, mentions
and logos and colors from his social media page.
They crossed a bridge with him
and he's pissed off and his
brother Tai Chi.
Samuel,
putting some comments on social media suggesting the debose,
not going to be back with the 49ers next year. This is
suddenly become a big deal for the 49ers and it's just a few
days after Debo who
hoop seem to be very nonplussed. About the whole
thing was talking about getting death threats and racist
comments from fans in his DM's.
This thing is, is a teetering right now seems and I don't
know what the 49ers are going to do, but they got a mess.
With one of the best players on their team. Yeah,
I'm definitely what I mean.
One of the best players certainly, the best player with
the ball in their hand, on the offensive side of the ball.
I mean, they're number one schematic. Oh, weapon,
man. There's a lot of things at play here. There really is.
When I think about it, one and I mean, I just sit there and
go, well, Shanahan. He's an ex receiver. He's very good at
evaluating them. Maybe he looks at it goes. Well, I'll find
another one. I don't want
to pay 30 million dollars a year,
maybe, I mean, again, we know you, I know we've heard from
coaches and people
that not everybody's bought into this 28 million.
Dollar-a-year wide receiver idea. I mean, said, there's
like there's some teams that are like, yep. I'll go get
them. There's another faction. Only this. Like, that's
crazy. Receivers are growing on trees. We don't need to pay
anybody 28 million dollars here. Maybe she only has one of
those guys. He does have an eye for it. I think has great. You
know,
what do I want to just say confidence in his ability to
evaluate that position?
But like, you know, Schefter,
right? The, the original thing. We saw
was, you know, it's not the 49ers. You know, I'm
paraphrasing. It's not the 49ers, this Depot Samuel,
that's halted the conversations.
And, you know, I first used go. What, what, how could that be?
Like, get the heck out of here? That's can't be real and
then you go. I mean, what was he making it up? Where's he get
that from? That's not something like, Shanahan are Lynch.
I think BS about 90,
but Pete made a great point when we were in. Group text
message last night a little bit. But yeah, maybe he halted
conversations after he realized
wait the numbers nowhere near I want to be. So I'm halting it
and I think that's could be a very real possibility that and
there's a lot that seems alon's up lines up there
at one point. Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
who doesn't cover the 49ers, made this comment and it was
regarded as a report and I didn't see anything in it. When
I looked at the tells me it wasn't Deebo wants to be
the highest-paid non quarterback in the NFL
and
If the 49ers aren't willing to do that and when it when at
a time when Nick boasts a probably wants to be
the highest-paid non quarterback in the NFL. They're going to have
to make a tough decision and Shanahan probably has
sufficient confidence in his scouting abilities. He could go
out and
find another Debo Samuel because they got him in round 2.
They know how to scout these guys.
You know, Shanahan has talks about What attracted them to
him and the way he played in college, and they saw
the physicality there, there goes the ear pad again,
but good luck. Fat, once you find a guy who can get it done
at the NFL level, the way he gets it done and you're going
to throw him back. You're going to move on from him.
Good luck with that. And then the question becomes,
what will 49ers do? He's under contract for one more year.
What if they just say to him? Sorry, we're gonna, we're gonna
play
this year with you on the team
show up play for us or play for no one if they want to play
Ultra Hardball with Debo Samuel, they can. Yeah, I mean,
they can, you're right, 100%,
they could also probably trade them. Right now and get
the greatest value of the ever be able to get for him. I mean,
the Jets wanted Tyree kill. Why the hell wouldn't they want
Debo Samuel?
Ivan said that's
I mean to me. It's oh wait the guy that's you know, almost
every bit as electric, maybe more Electric in some ways
and he's just about to hit the prime of his career.
You know, I would think there's going to be a market for one of
those teams that's willing to pay a guy. Like Debo Samuel,
that type of money.
I would I'm gonna be interested to see where this goes because
I think all the things we said,
I can see being real and I know people think like, oh, well,
you know, Kyle's, probably tell, I haven't talked to Kyle
and forever. I have no clue. No clue, what's going on here
at all. But I do know that he has great evaluate. He's a he
knows or he feels he's a cop. He's confident in his
evaluation of
wide receivers and just trying to put myself in his shoes.
Maybe that's what he's thinking. And yes, they got
some other issues. You're right with other contracts that they
got to figure out plus
a 25 million-dollar quarterback. That they don't
want our team that's sitting there. Two.
He returned to receiving yards as a rookie in 2019 appearing
in 15 games. Missed nine games in the regular season in 2020
and had only 391 receiving yards.
Last year, is when he exploded became an All-Pro 1,400
receiving yards out of 365. Rushing yards. He told us that
the Super Bowl was a surprise to him when they started using
him as a running back, the kind of created this mess for
themselves
by making him such a featured player in the offense. Elijah
him. Develop into the player he is and making him realize
I have far greater value than what you are attributing to me.
I am a combination. I can play running back. I can play
receiver. I can
do it all. And as we've said about the Jets, they had
the wallet open to trade for Tyree kill and pay Tyree kill. And
here's Debo Samuel, who is making peanuts and comparison
to what Davante Adams and Tyree killer making. Because he's
Under
the slotted fourth year of his rookie contract
and and yeah, I paid, I think your instincts are right, they
pissed him off they
and and maybe they can fix it. Now. Maybe it's on them to fix
it and maybe the way to fix it is just show up with
a truckload of money. But
sometimes that that negotiation ritual early on when they
deliberately go low. That could be enough. You could insult
someone a little bit, insulted him a little bit, a little bit.
Yes.
It seems like it. You insult them a little bit with one of
those early numbers and he just says screw you. I'm out of
here. Yeah, it does seem like that. Yes, and it's so I don't
know. It's some pretty strong. So,
you know, statements, he's made
and and even the brother
and I'll again, I know it's the brother, but, you know, more
times than not the brothers are on the same page. It's going on
player. Yeah, they usually know what the hell's
going on. Exactly. Right. And,
you know, bottom line is, you know, we've discussed a lot and
you say it all the time and I always loved. That you do it.
Yeah, he's making nothing
and he's a kind of a car crash wide receiver.
He's different that way
and he's got to protect himself because of that. And the fact
that we have tangible evidence that
and every Big Moment, the last seven weeks of the Year, going
into the playoffs. When there was a big moment. They went,
let's give Debo one of those car crash plays and let's go
let him do it and then one of the game for us.
Damn, so yes, he has value there and he's got
Protect himself there too. Because
I do think Shanahan's the type of coach that will ride you and
ride you and ride. You until you know, the wheels start to
fall off a little bit. He's gonna get his money's worth out
of you.
This is a prime opportunity for them to rebuild some of
the draft Capital, they gave up to get Trail ants
and if they do have a problem with Debo, if they have
misplayed, this if they have bungled it and he's pissed off
and doesn't want to be there. They may have to think about it
in the Jets. Make the most sense
if they are thinking about
trading. Him in part because they would have to deal with him
in the division or in the conference.
They would send him all the way to the other side of
the country. And if he thrives in New York, so be it will never
see them except for once every four years or in the Super
Bowl. If
our paths. Yes, I just wanted this one thing. Mike. This is
another thing. I do Wonder, You Know
by all due accounts, as we both know. They want to make it
Trey, Lance the trail and show.
I would think if I'm Lynch or Shanahan, you put all those
That's going to get your Trail Ends.
You're also feeling the pressure of
demos going to make life a lot easier on trail. And so we
really yeah, we're going to throw trade. So they got
the new shoe here. And the, I could understand them being pulled to
a lot of different ways in their brain as they try to
figure this out.
It's all the more reason for Debo to want more.
Yeah. I'm here, right. Prop up this guy that you weren't
sufficiently sure about to even put on the field very much.
Last year. We thought we were going to see him a lot. We
hardly saw him. He had to start against the Texans when Jimmy G
was injured. There's still I thought percolating around
the NFL that tray Lance isn't ready. The 49ers aren't going
to come out and tell us that but
he's going to look a lot more ready.
If he's got Debo Samuel to hand the ball off to
to throw the bubble screen, the Jet Sweep to
to know. He's part of that offense,
that makes Trail ants
a lot better than it would be. If Tebow Samuel isn't on
the team.
And and one final point.
You got 25 million in cap space,
that is tied to the quarterback. You continue
to cling to And somebody got mad at me because I refer to
Jimmy Garoppolo as an albatross recently. I'm not talking about
him. I'm talking about his contract, they're done with
him.
They're done with him,
but they're saddled with 25 million dollars in cap space
that they're carrying because
they think that some great trade opportunities going to
fall out of the sky. That's the albatross that contract at this
point because that money that cap space could be devoted
to Debo Samuel. And let me tell you at some point Samuel and
his agents have
Shirley had that conversation
you're going to you're going to keep paying all this money to
the guy that is going to be on the bench. What are you doing?
What are you doing?
I'm the guy that's out there, helping you win.
I want what you're
going to apparently, give to Jimmy Garoppolo. If you can't
find a trade partner, the whole thing is a mess and I don't
know where it's going to go,
but it definitely is one of those. You know,
you got calamari, you got Deebo Samuel. Those are the two top
contract disputes to keep an eye on, right?
Now as you try to figure out
where Baker Mayfield is going to go where Jimmy G is going to
go. We've got a lot of plates spinning in the NFL as
the draft approaches and not all these things are going to get
resolved by next week. Chris know the definitely not it's
not
and it's will say it's going to make maybe this lead up to
the draft a little bit more exciting. I don't know if
the cobbler Marie thing really matters
49ers Debo, Samuel thing though
that that can matter for sure
and same with Baker, Mayfield that could also be in play here
that over the next week. So,
it's always an Exciting time in the NFL, always never a dull
moment.