George Kittle holding no ill will toward Deebo Samuel amid contract, trade rumors

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle says he supports Deebo Samuel amid contract talks.

This offseason, as the top wide receivers across the league were receiving new contracts, Deebo Samuel requested a trade from the San Francisco 49ers. On June 26, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler revealed that Samuel has not officially rescinded his trade request, but did report to team minicamp.

49ers tight end George Kittle appeared on Barstool Sports’ “Bussin’ with the Boys” podcast, hosted by Taylor Lewan and Will Compton, and said he supports Samuel in his pursuit of getting a new contract.

“It’s the NFL, go get what you deserve dude,” said Kittle, h/t Sports Illustrated. “Deebo deserves to get paid a lot of money, and if they don’t want to give you a lot of money, do what you need to do.”

George Kittle speaks on Deebo Samuel contract situation

Additionally, Kittle did say that if he were the 49ers, he would have negotiated a deal in-season this past year.

“Hindsight is 20-20, right? And I know nothing, I haven’t talked to John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan or Deebo about it, I have not,” Kittle said, h/t Audcacy. “I don’t know anything. All I know is that in hindsight, I would’ve paid Deebo three-quarters of the way through the season, try to do a contract in-season, for sure. Probably would’ve been cheaper. Christian Kirk really set the market off.”

The full segment of Kittle discussing the Samuel situation can be heard in the YouTube video below:

Kittle mentions that the wide receiver market was reset after the Jacksonville Jaguars signed former Arizona Cardinals pass-catcher Christian Kirk to a four-year, $72 million contract. Since then, all of the top receivers managed to secure new deals.

Davante Adams with the Las Vegas Raiders. Tyreek Hill with the Miami Dolphins. Cooper Kupp with the Los Angeles Rams. And that is just a couple of the huge contracts that some of the top names in the league have.

Samuel is coming off of a huge campaign with the 49ers, as he caught 77-of-121 targets for 1,405 yards and six touchdowns. His 18.2 yards-per-reception was the highest in the entire league in 2021. Samuel also ran for 365 yards and eight touchdowns on 59 carries.

Will Samuel and the 49ers be able to agree to terms on a new deal? We will have to wait and see.