One of the first notifications of this offseason was the San Francisco 49ers trading away Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders. After rumors of a trade had made the rounds multiple times, the move was the first in a list of decisions to alter the San Francisco roster.
A mainstay on the 49ers, Samuel’s absence was going to be felt across the entire locker room, especially with other longtime franchise players like George Kittle. In a recent interview, the superstar tight end broke down the exact circumstances that led to his teammate of six seasons finding a new home.
Kittle Supports Samuel’s Fresh Start in Washington
Despite the movement up and down the organization, Kittle was a happy man this offseason, earning a four-year extension worth $76.4 million, making him the highest-paid tight end in the league once again.
It was a deserving honor after completing his second consecutive, and fourth overall, season with over 1,000 receiving yards. He tallied 78 receptions for 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns on the season, almost single-handedly keeping the offense afloat during a challenging campaign.
A big reason for the offensive struggles was Samuel, who arguably had the worst year of his career. Suiting up in 15 games, the former Pro Bowler tallied just 51 catches for 670 yards and three touchdowns. Kittle, however, didn’t blame his former teammate.
Instead, during an appearance on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast, he spoke about why he believed Samuel needed the trade. “I’m happy for him that he went to Washington. Guys need a fresh start sometimes, and he wanted a fresh start. So I’m very happy for him.”
However, the feeling was a little bittersweet for one key reason. “I’m sad that I don’t have him on my team anymore, because I just loved having him around the locker room and stuff like that. But I’m happy for him.”
He also believes the Commanders, in particular, were a good destination for the South Carolina product because of Adam Peters (their former assistant general manager) handling operations in the nation’s capital.
Additionally, he had some high praise for last year’s NFC Championship Game competitors. “With the zone stuff that Jayden Daniels does, and all the stuff that we did with Deebo in the backfield, and you have Scary Terry on the outside, yeah.”
Samuel Joins Elite Washington Offense
With other weapons like Zach Ertz to worry about as well, the overall verdict was straightforward from the six-time Pro Bowl selection. “They have a very talented offense, and Jayden Daniels just makes everybody better, too.”
For Samuel, the 49ers walked away with a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft that eventually became running back Jordan James from Oregon.
With the former All-Pro selection’s numbers progressively declining, a change, like Kittle said, was necessary. And with the Commanders, Samuel is exactly that, as his head coach, Dan Quinn, and quarterback are already big fans of his game.
For a team that finished as the seventh-best offense in the league in both total yards and points, per PFSN’s Offense+ metric last season, the addition of a potential superstar wide receiver like Samuel could only seek to elevate that number. Now it’s up to the former 49er to prove the detractors wrong in his fresh start with Washington.
