The New Orleans Saints defeat Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 in overtime to advance to their first Super Bowl in 2010. View more of this date’s sporting events.
INSANITY, California Three months after Deebo Samuel had asked for a trade during protracted and often tense contract talks, on July 30, 2022, the 49ers wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers was lounging on a couch in left tackle Trent Williams’ house.
Samuel was waiting for a call, hoping for a life-altering new deal to cap off the “most stressful” period of his life. At last, agent Tory Dandy officially announced that Samuel’s three-year deal with guaranteed money of $58.1 million had been finalized.
Samuel, sitting next to Williams on a different couch in the 49ers’ PR department, grinned and said, “We was just chilling,” as he shared the recollection with ESPN. “And then we just went crazy.”
CRAZY, California On July 30, 2022, the 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel was relaxing on a couch in left tackle Trent Williams’ home, three months after he had requested a trade during lengthy and frequently heated contract negotiations.
Samuel was waiting for a call, expecting that this would be the “most stressful” time in his life to end with a game-changing new agreement. Agent Tory Dandy finally declared that Samuel’s three-year contract, with a guaranteed $58.1 million, was signed.
Smiling and telling ESPN, “We were just chilling,” Samuel, who was seated ne
According to 49ers legend, the trade preserved one of the team’s greatest players and made sure that Samuel, 28, and Williams, 35, could carry on establishing a strong, self-assured tone as the team pursues a sixth Lombardi Trophy. It was an important turning point in the quick bond that grew after Williams was dealt to the Niners in 2020.
Samuel, the self-sufficient “wide back,” saw this as an opportunity to learn from Williams and hone his skills. Samuel’s extreme confidence translated into more lessons for Williams, the stout blindside defender, in the art of trash talk.
The 49ers’ identity is anchored by the friendship that the former housemates have created together. It’s no accident that the Niners’ weekly “Bumpboxx” entrances, a pregame ritual the team hopes Samuel will be able to participate in before Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the Detroit Lions (6:30 p.m. ET, Fox), feature the two players opponents see first when they take the field.
It is not a recurrence of the hairline fracture he sustained earlier in the season, but Samuel is 50/50 to play on Sunday due to a left shoulder injury he sustained in Saturday’s divisional round matchup against the Green Bay Packers. Without him, the offense faltered in a thrilling victory on Saturday.
Tight end George Kittle remarked, “You can just see it every time our team walks out.” It’s a swagger. When they do that, it seems as though it boosts the confidence of everyone around them and this squad as a whole. They simply exude an air that inspires being a fantastic football player.”
Samuel was an avid football player growing up in South Carolina, but he never really like watching the game. Even while he studies films more than he used to, he still rarely plays games for enjoyment and is still generally opposed to in-depth film analysis.
That’s why it comes as no surprise that throughout the summer, Samuel worked out at the O Athletik gym in Houston with former Niners running back Jerick McKinnon.
McKinnon interrupted Samuel as they were talking about how the 49ers would replace retiring left tackle Joe Staley. McKinnon indicated the 6-foot-5, 318-pound Williams across the gym and provided Samuel with a brief scouting report.
Samuel admitted, “I wasn’t really sure who Trent was.” “Looks like we’re going to need his ass, S—.” I approached him, and we proceeded to simply hack it up. The relationship continued to grow and grow from that point on.”
When Williams was chosen by Washington with the fourth choice of the 2010 NFL draft, he was still a freshman at Chapman (South Carolina) High School, but the two quickly became friends. They bonded right away over extremely tough off-season training that both of them detest at the mention of them.
Williams and Samuel worked out for two and a half hours five or six days a week, often in the scorching Texas heat. The worst of those were on the track, when they would alternate between 200-meter hurdles and 400-, 500-, and 600-meter sprints. These would be combined with field work, swimming pools, and sand pits.
The closer they approached training camp, the more intense the nausea-inducing drills became.
Williams described the workouts as “just a litany of hard-ass workouts.” “The more time we spent doing those things and being active, it just created conversation and memories that only people going through it with you can have.”
Shanahan wasn’t shocked when Samuel and Williams grew close despite their disparate ages and social classes.
Shanahan remarked, “They’re both such special players and such good players.” “No receiver like Deebo exists, nor are there tackles like Trent. I would have undoubtedly believed that they would have been tight if you had asked.”
As it happened, Samuel and Williams were able to go from being teammates to roommates as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Towards the end of the 2020 season, the 49ers moved to Arizona after Santa Clara County banned home games.
Williams and Samuel rented a home and shared it for the last month of the season. They lived in the Phoenix area and spent most of their time lounging around the house, chatting about anything from how to balance football and family life to their mutual love of music and basketball.
“We had to find something to do after practice and playing the games,” Samuel stated. Thus, most of it was just s—talk. Simply everyday things.”
They also learned a few oddities about one another. To Samuel’s dismay, when he would return after games, Williams would be sleeping soundly on the living room couch, wrapped in a blanket in the clothes the 320-pound lineman wore.
Not only did that month strengthen their bond and make Williams the only player Samuel would trust with his contract status, but it also gave them a chance to grow as individuals.
Samuel would stroll into the kitchen almost every night to find Williams reviewing footage of himself or potential opponents, either from games or practice, and methodically analyzing each rep, even as the 49ers slid to an injury-ravaged 6-10 record in 2020.
For Samuel, it was an up-close look at how a top player maintains consistency in production—a problem that has surfaced a few times in the receiver’s career, most notably in a 2022 campaign that he has referred to as “awful” because to his lack of physical fitness.
Despite the fact that Williams and Samuel are different players, Samuel realized he and Williams had exceptional talents and that he could improve his own abilities by watching and copying Williams.
“As you look around the league, you see the whole league trying to copy everything that he does,” remarked Samuel. “However, they are unable to succeed. He is a unique player.
This year, Samuel became the only player in NFL history to have at least 4,000 receiving yards and 1,000 rushing yards in their first five seasons, joining Hall of Famer Charley Taylor in the process. Like Williams, Samuel enjoys making sure his opponents are aware of him even after their game.
Williams is the veteran with greater experience, although he has
But Samuel doesn’t work like that. Williams claims that Samuel’s running is unsurpassed in its ferocity and desire. From an early age, Samuel’s father urged him to treat every game as though he was the best player on the field. If that meant using some foul language to motivate his opponent, then so be it.
Samuel frequently demonstrates this strategy by being a willing trash talker prior to, during, and following games. That could be an issue for some people. It’s a fuel source for Samuel and frequently leads to some of his best performances.
Samuel maintained time and time again that the outcome of last year’s NFC Championship Game would have been different had quarterback Brock Purdy not sustained an elbow injury that ended his season.
Samuel stood by all he said prior to the Niners’ 42-19 December demolition of the Eagles in Philadelphia. He scored three touchdowns and 138 scrimmage yards right away.
“That’s why I don’t take nothing back that I say,” Samuel replied. “What I say is what I stand by. It’s going to be difficult, but if you stop me, you’ve got me beat. The day will be lengthy.
Williams has always desired but never embraced Samuel’s fearlessness with words, even if he has always been as fearless with his play. Williams has become more confident in expressing his opinions, regardless of the backlash, after witnessing Samuel consistently support them with his actions.
Williams and Samuel wore all black to the Philadelphia game, and Williams subsequently said that they had dressed “for a funeral.” This is why.
“I talk s— when I’m mad, but I wish I can wake up out of the bed and say you can’t f— with me and then go out there and show that you can’t f— with me and there’s nothing you can do about it,” Williams stated. Also, when you’re interacting
The 49ERS’ journey to their fourth NFC title game in the previous five years hasn’t been fraught with difficulties. But then there came that run of three straight losses after a 5-0 start. It’s not unexpected, considering their worth, that the losing run coincided with Samuel and Williams’ absences due to ankle and shoulder problems, respectively.
Samuel and Williams returned following the Week 9 bye, and the Niners won six straight games by an average of 19 points.
When Williams and Samuel were together on the field this season, the Niners recorded 148.38 offensive expected points added (EPA) and averaged 7.2 yards per play. The Niners had a negative-19.85 offensive EPA and averaged 5.3 yards per play while neither Williams nor Samuel were playing.
Many of the players in the 49ers locker room agree with Purdy. Finding Williams and Samuel in their usual location at the front of the Bumpboxx line will give the Niners confidence and inspiration as they pursue another Super Bowl trip. It’s the contemporary equivalent of the team’s baddest guys getting off the bus first.
