After deleting a social media post articulating his frustrations with his usage, Deebo Samuel orally voiced them on Tuesday.
Asked about the since-deleted post that read, "Not struggling at all, just not getting the ball!" the San Francisco 49ers receiver responded: "You read what you read. [I'm] a little frustrated for sure."
That frustration arose from his recent lack of production, particularly over the past four games, in which he hasn't broken the 35-yard scrimmage barrier in any contest.
For the season, he's averaging 6.0 scrimmage touches per game (averaged 7.5 from 2021-23), and his 9.0 scrimmage yards per touch is his second season below 10 (8.8 in 2022).
Samuel and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said they always talk about the wideout's usage. Shanahan said he'd prefer to keep those discussions in-house but gets where Samuel is coming from.
"Deebo and I talk every day. I understand Deebo saying that," Shanahan said, via the team's official transcript. "Deebo wants to help us out, and the only way he helps us out is getting the ball more. We'd like to get it to him more and we'll continue to work at that. ...
"We'd always love things to stay in-house. 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. And then I'd maybe make a tweet or something too. I mean is it a distraction in our building? No. I've got to answer questions about, 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 the outside frustrate you, because just answering those things isn't going to help you in any way. Usually only hurts you. But as far as like what we deal with and our relationships and our team, it's water under the bridge."
Under the bridge is where the Niners' 2024 season is headed if they don't beat the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.
