To say Deebo Samuel is displeased with his performance in 2022 would be an understatement.
On Tuesday, Samuel categorized his play derisively and succinctly.
“It was awful. It was awful. Every aspect.”
That seems a fairly harsh criticism, but Samuel’s campaign was nowhere near the 2021 season that had him in contention for Offensive Player of the Year, and which earned him a three-year, up to $73.5 million extension.
It was the wait and worry for the contract, though, that Samuel believes led to a downturn.
He missed three games in 2022 due to injury and was less explosive on his touches, as evidenced by film and his performance:
| Receptions | Rec. yards | Rec. TD | YPR | Carries | Rush YDS | Rush TDS | YPC | |
| 2022 | 77 | 1,405 | 6 | 18.2 (led NFL) | 59 | 365 | 8 | 6.2 |
| 2023 | 56 | 632 | 2 | 11.3 | 42 | 232 | 3 | 5.5 |
Still, to categorize his season as a colossal failure seems harsh.
But Samuel was adamant. He expressed a level of serious disdain for what he put on the field in 2022, saying the contract talks were a distraction and that he came into training camp out of shape.
“Yeah, for sure [I was out of shape],” Samuel said. “It shows on tape.”
That tape was something he and Kyle Shanahan reviewed a few days prior. It led Samuel to vow to avoid anything that might resemble what we saw in 2022.
“Me and Kyle had a long meeting the other day,” Samuel said. “We watched tape. We talked about it. We put it behind us and just going through the tape and just look how sluggish how bad it looked on the tape. Just reflecting on last offseason played a big role in that. And I’ll never put nothing like that on tape again.”
His main focus this offseason is to get back into the shape that he was in heading into the 2021 campaign.
Shanahan — who has a uniquely tight bond with Samuel — raved about the wide back’s fitness levels. He had given him a pep talk after an injury-riddled 2020 campaign and Samuel took it to heart.
For him, the season starts in the spring. Shanahan once said that the only person that could stop Samuel is himself, and his health. With his statements on Tuesday, Samuel expressed confidence he’d re-establish his health and his dominance.
“I’m gonna be more than ready to go,” Samuel said.