Deebo Samuel not only had his trade request fulfilled but also landed in one of his top desired locations.
The new Washington Commanders receiver wrote a "Thank You" post to San Francisco on this week, noting that the D.C. club was one of his top destinations.
"I think this is one of the best possible fits for me, where I can go in and help a team," Samuel wrote. "Honestly, when my agent asked me where I wanted to go, this was one of the teams at the top of my list. I started watching Jayden (Daniels) because of (Brandon) Aiyuk, that's like his best friend. We used to chill, watch LSU games, and I knew he was going to be a stud. I've got some connections already with the coaching staff.
"Definitely ready to work with Terry (McLaurin) for sure, because we came in the league at the same time. I've heard how hard he grinds. I'm just ready to match the energy and get to it. S--- … I got a feeling this season is about to be one of them ones."
The fit on paper in Kliff Kingsbury's offense certainly is a good one. Samuel might have fallen off since his 1,405-yard receiving 2021 season and wasn't as dynamic a dual threat a year ago, but he remains a yards-after-catch maven. Kingsbury loves to dial up wideout screens to get playmakers in space. We should see a ton of those for Samuel in 2025.
McLaurin remains a legit WR1, so Samuel should see beneficial matchups that Daniels can take advantage of in 2025.
Samuel reiterated that he has no ill feelings toward the 49ers organization, John Lynch or Kyle Shanahan, despite how things unfolded.
"And listen, for John and Kyle to send me to a team in the NFC that was almost a Super Bowl contender, it just shows you the type of love and relationship that we have," Samuel wrote. "I know at the end of the day, they didn't have to do that. So, it's not a lick of bad blood when it comes to me and that organization. It's always love."
Of course, the flip side of that coin is that, perhaps, the Niners didn't fear trading Samuel within the conference because they don't worry about it coming back to bite them next January.
