49ers’ Deebo Samuel is frustrated. He wants the ball against Rams

Deebo Samuel isn’t the first wide receiver to pout over a perceived dearth of touches, and he certainly won’t be the last. But the fact that he posted on X that he’s “not struggling at all just not getting the ball!!!!!!!” ahead of a Thursday night clash between Samuel’s San Francisco 49ers and the Rams adds a twist to what already should be an entertaining game.

It’s true that Samuel isn’t targeted as often this season, averaging six touches per game, one fewer than during his first five seasons. It’s also true that he isn’t doing as much with the ball when he gets it in his hands.

The six-year veteran has 40 receptions for 553 yards, continuing a slide that began in 2022, a year after he earned All-Pro honors by exploding for 77 catches for 1,405 yards and six touchdowns while also rushing for 365 yards and eight touchdowns. He was rewarded with a three-year, $73.5-million contract extension.

Samuel has long been considered one of the top rushing threats among receivers, but this season he’s rushed 32 times for just 92 yards, a puny 2.9 yard average. And his production is spiraling — he has only 97 combined receiving and rushing yards in the last four games — the least yardage gained in any four-game stretch in his career.

All of which would seem to fit the definition of “struggling.”

His decline is especially noticeable during a season where star running back Christian McCaffery and dangerous wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk are out for the season with injuries and the 49ers had dropped three games in a row before bouncing back Sunday against the struggling Chicago Bears.

The bombshell tweet, which was accompanied by a shrugging emoji, was deleted, but Samuel stood by his message talking to reporters Tuesday, saying, “You read what you read. I was frustrated, for sure.”

49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and quarterback Brock Purdy downplayed it, basically saying it was Deebo being Deebo. And, by the way, maybe the mercurial wideout had a point.

“Deebo and I talk every day, so I understand Deebo saying that,” Shanahan told reporters. “Deebo wants to help us out, and the only way he helps us out is getting the ball more. And we’d like to get it to him more, and we’ll continue to work at that.”

Purdy emphasized his strong relationship with Samuel before adding, “I think he’s right. He’s doing great right now with what we ask of him in the offense, and he’s not struggling. … There’s just moments, I guess, throughout seasons where guys just don’t get the ball, just depending on scheme or what the defensive scheme is, and them taking guys away.”

The 49ers (6-7) likely will need a productive game from Samuel to defeat the Rams (7-6), who are coming off an extremely impressive 44-42 victory over the Buffalo Bills. With four games left in the regular season, the 49ers and Rams both need to win to help their playoff chances. San Francisco, which is tied for last place in the NFC West with the Arizona Cardinals (6-7), is a game back of the second-place Rams, who trail the first-place Seattle Seahawks (8-5).

Samuel has a mixed resume against L.A., making only two catches for 21 yards in a loss last season but contributing to four consecutive 49ers wins over the Rams from 2020 through 2022 by racking up 440 receiving yards.

“We’d always love things to stay in-house,” Shanahan said. “That’s probably why I don’t mess with social media. I’m sure I’d get worked up and stuff, too, if I was reading stuff about myself all the time. Then, I’d maybe make a tweet or something. But is it a distraction in our building? No. We gotta answer questions about it. It’s the first time I’ve talked about it is right here.

“But Deebo and I see each other every day and talk about stuff every day, so my advice is to not let outside [noise] frustrate you because just answering those things isn’t gonna help you in any way. It usually only hurts you. But as far as what we deal with in our relationships and our team, it’s water under the bridge.”

For his part, Samuel didn’t walk back his tweet, although he tried to clarify that none of his teammates were in his line of fire. He reshared a post praising fellow receiver Jauan Jennings along with his own post that said, “Just cause I voice my opinions don’t mean I’m hating on any of my teammates!! Be Fr.”