SANTA CLARA, Calif. — “I’ve hated him for so long.”
That’s what San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Raheem Morris had to say Saturday when asked about the team’s newest receiver, Deebo Samuel, who hit the ground running by going through a full practice on his first day back.
Morris had reason to resent the wideout. Samuel was the Los Angeles Rams’ biggest scourge from 2021 to 2023 when Morris served as the team’s defensive coordinator. In three encounters during the 2021 regular season and playoffs, Samuel racked up 372 combined yards and four touchdowns.
Every time Morris turned on the TV the following offseason, there was Samuel.
“I couldn’t watch ESPN for an entire summer because I kept watching Deebo score a 60-yard touchdown,” he said with a smile.
These 49ers players are off to a slow start at training camp
Matt Barrows and Vic Tafur
The question now is whether the 49ers are getting the old Deebo or just an old version.
General manager John Lynch said the team had been hoping to bring in Samuel, 30, for the last month with the idea that he would join a rotation that included Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall and others. Samuel, however, went through his first 49ers practice on the same day the team put Pearsall on season-ending injured reserve. He’ll have surgery on his right knee later this month and his rehabilitation, Lynch said, could last from six to 12 months.
“He’s gutted, we’re gutted,” Lynch said Saturday of Pearsall. “(He’s) a really good football player, really an important member of our team, an impactful player. … He did well throughout the offseason. He got to the point where he ramped it up to the last gear right before camp, and then he came into camp and the rigors of camp — competition and whatnot — (made the knee swell) up right away.”
“It’s unfortunate,” Lynch continued. “The good news is the rest of Ricky’s knee is in great shape.”
The 2021 season in which Samuel tormented Morris and the Rams, meanwhile, might be considered “peak Deebo.”
He finished the regular season with 14 touchdowns and 1,770 combined yards, 27 percent of the 49ers’ total. His combined yardage ranked third in the NFL that year, and he led the league with 18.2 yards per reception.
Samuel, however, hasn’t come close to replicating that production, and his ability to separate from defensive backs has declined since the 2021 season, according to Fantasy Points Data:
Deebo Samuel’s separation win rate
Year
Win rate
2022
13.4% (4th-worst of 76)
2023
14.1% (18th-worst of 73)
2024
9.7% (11th-worst of 72)
2025
7.7% (6th-worst of 68 wide receivers)
On Saturday, Lynch noted that Samuel worked out for the team after he arrived Friday afternoon and that he appeared to be in “really good shape.” That was underscored in Saturday’s rigorous practice that saw Brock Purdy target Samuel three times, including on a deep crossing pattern that drew a round of applause from the fans in the east bleachers. Samuel also took a carry early in practice, which, coupled with his No. 19 jersey, made it seem as if he’d never had a one-year sojourn with the Washington Commanders last year.
John Lynch said Deebo Samuel is in “really good shape,” and the newest 49ers WR followed that up by going through a full practice, the team’s most rigorous to date this summer. pic.twitter.com/BJBJSzPamG
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) August 1, 2026
“Deebo — you’re going to see him in the return game, you’re going to see him some at receiver, you’re gonna see him some at running back,” Lynch said. “We’re going to use him all over the field, and we’re really excited to have Deebo back.”
Morris is excited, too.
“It’s nice to be on the same side,” he said. “He’s the ultimate piece that you can move around the board.”
Odds and ends:
• The 49ers aren’t even a week into training camp and the injury bug has already bitten deeply into their roster, especially at defensive end.
The team ended Saturday’s session with just three fully healthy defensive ends after a flurry of injuries at the position. The most serious appeared to be to undrafted rookie Mikail Kamara, who had to be carted off the field with a left knee issue. Cameron Sample (knee) didn’t practice at all, while Keion White (adductor) and Romello Height (elbow) were also hurt during the session.
With Nick Bosa limited to individual drills and Mykel Williams (knee) still on PUP, it left Sam Okuayinonu, K.J. Henry and Quinton Bell as the only true defensive ends with defensive tackle Kevin Givens pressed into service at the edge position. Henry got so many extra snaps that by the end of practice he seemed to be dealing with a heat-related issue and had to have a cold compress applied to the back of his neck.
“You keep going,” Morris said when asked how coaches handle a practice in which one position group becomes so precarious. “You do what you do in a game. Stuff happens in a game, and you’ve got to switch personnel groupings. You’ve got to be able to deviate off the schedule and off the scripted plan and be able to get the other guys out there and give them opportunities. Nothing better than that happening in these types of environments.”
• Despite facing a dearth of defensive ends, the 49ers offense struggled to find its rhythm as Purdy was just 8-of-16 passing during team drills. Throws seemed to land just beyond the outstretched arms of receivers, and there were at least two drops — from Evans and Jordan Watkins.
The 49ers practiced without top pick De’Zhaun Stribling, who’s dealing with hamstring tightness. A team spokesman clarified that it’s not a hamstring strain that’s affecting the rookie receiver, who’s coming off a pair of impressive practices.
• Samuel said there was “a little transaction” that led to Jacob Cowing giving up No. 19, the jersey number Samuel wore from 2019 to 2024 with San Francisco. Cowing is now wearing No. 6, which might prompt another change should he and safety Malik Mustapha both make the 53-man roster at the end of the month.
• Undrafted rookie receiver Wesley Grimes made a pair of impressive catches during one-on-one drills Saturday, including one on a deep ball against cornerback Darrell Luter Jr.
• Kyle Shanahan was on the field for nearly the full practice, his longest stint since his July 14 car crash and resulting concussion. Lynch also noted that Shanahan addressed the team for the first time this summer on Saturday morning, another sign he’s making progress.
