"It's vital that they pay this man" - Former NFL player believes 49ers' key to success in 2022 is signing star WR Deebo Samuel to extension

Yesterday, it was a bit of a surprise to see San Francisco 49ers wide receiver, Deebo Samuel show up to minicamp. The fourth-year receiver is one of many top receivers entering a contract year where they are trying to get paid.

Although he didn't participate in any activities, he watched from the sidelines and that's a good sign that he will return to the 49ers and possibly get a long-term deal done.

Former NFL linebacker and current analyst Rob Ninkovich spoke about the receiver's situation on Get Up.

Ninkovich said:

"I think he's going to get paid very soon. If you're his agent, just go to minicamp. You don't want to rack up any fines. We're gonna be nice here but we're gonna get paid. So it's vital that they pay this man. He is key to this offense and a young quarterback taking the next step in the progression. So I really think that the contract is going to get done sooner than later."

Ninkovich thinks that the 49ers will hammer out a deal with the star receiver. Samuel is key to their offense and to the success of young quarterback Trey Lance. Lance will likely take over as the quarterback for the team this season, barring any injuries or unforeseeable issues.

Last season, Samuel recorded 1,770 total yards and 14 total touchdowns on offense. That kind of productivity is rare to find, and the 49ers will do whatever they can to retain him.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan's relationship with Deebo Samuel

San Francisco 49ers v Los Angeles Rams

Yesterday, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke about the relationship between the team and Samuel and stated that it's alright.

Here's what he said:

“I think it’s always been alright. I know we go through the business part of this league and things like that. But I don’t think the relationship was ever too far away to not get it back to normal."

He continued:

"I think we’re working on that. Anytime you’re away from each other for a while, that’s always harder. But it’s good to get him back in here and start getting him around the guys again.”

Shanahan also declined to answer whether or not the reciever had rescinded his trade request.

On the subject, he said:

“I’m not going to get into that and you guys can ask Deebo to speak for himself on that,” Shanahan said. “But love our relationship with Deebo and hopefully that’ll help us be able to solve this contractually before we get to the season.”

The 49ers go into the 2022 season with every hope of going all the way. Though they are leaning on a largely unproven quarterback in Trey Lance, they have seen enough of him to beleive he is the real deal going forward.

Last season, they fell in the NFC Championship game against future Super Bowl champions the Los Angeles Rams. With the talent they have on the roster, there really is reason to believe they could go all the way.