San Francisco 49ers Must Find Balance To End Deebo Samuel Saga

Terry McLaurin has become the latest wide receiver to earn a substantial payday, receiving a three-year extension from the Washington Commanders following a stellar start to his NFL career, with his deal likely to bring the episode surrounding Deebo Samuel and the San Francisco 49ers further into focus as training camp approaches.

McLaurin’s extension will pay him an average of $23.3 million a year in new money, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, and keeps him on the Commanders through the 2025 season.

The deal is just reward for McLaurin’s consistency, which has seen him record back-to-back 1,000-yard season after falling 81 yards shy of that mark as a rookie.

An injury-riddled 2020 has hindered Samuel from being as consistent as McLaurin, who entered the league in the same 2019 draft class.

However, McLaurin has not experienced a high point on the level of that of Samuel, who racked up 1,770 yards from scrimmage in 2021 (1,405 receiving, 365 rushing) and scored 14 total touchdowns – his eight rushing scores setting a single-season record for a wideout – before leading the offense as the Niners surged to the NFC Championship Game.

McLaurin now has the long-term security his play has merited, and Samuel is theoretically the next domino to fall.

Samuel’s saga with the 49ers has been the dominant contract stand-off of the offseason at the wide receiver position, and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (h/t 49ers Webzone) recently reported he has not rescinded a trade request the Niners have refused to grant.

However, Samuel was at mandatory minicamp and, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network, there is optimism an extremely lucrative deal can get done.

Samuel’s negotiation is a tricky one for the Niners because of the unique ‘wide back’ role he has played for San Francisco. He is said to be dissatisfied with serving as a wide receiver and a running back and the 49ers did draft tailback Tyrion Davis-Price in the third round, perhaps hinting at less of a reliance on Samuel in the backfield in 2022.

The 49ers have been known for striking team-friendly, backloaded contracts. They may have to depart from that structure a little with Samuel and pay him up front guaranteed money reflective of his outsized value to their offense.

Per Wilson, 76 percent of McLaurin’s deal is guaranteed at signing, with his $28 million signing bonus surpassing the previous high for a receiver of $27.5 million for DeAndre Hopkins. It could take a similar package for the Niners to end the stand-off with Samuel.

San Francisco has consistently looked to build team-friendly flexibility into its contracts. However, for the Niners to succeed in breaking the impasse with Samuel, they will likely need to balance that desire with giving Samuel the kind of substantial and immediate financial reward that may well increase his willingness to fulfil the wide back role again in 2022.