Becoming a member of the All-Pro team once is tough.
Following it up with another All-Pro season is even tougher.
Deebo Samuel fell short of making it the second time around, unable to live up to his breakout season with the San Francisco 49ers in 2021, and there was no bigger critic on his 2022 performance than himself.
The star wide receiver described his 2022 campaign as “awful” on Wednesday — and promised it wouldn’t happen again.
“Just going through the tape, it was, ‘Look how sluggish and, like, how bad you look on tape,'” Samuel told reporters on Wednesday. “I’ll never put nothing on tape like that again.”
The sluggishness on tape certainly reflected the drop-off in his numbers from his All-Pro campaign just a year prior.
In 2021, the wideout recorded a career-high 1,405 receiving yards for six touchdowns on the year and led the league in yards per reception.
Samuel was also effective rushing the football as well, chipping in eight touchdowns from the backfield.
This past season, the receiver saw decreases in nearly all major receiving and rushing statistics: he only managed 864 total scrimmage yards and five touchdowns, recording career lows in receiving yards per reception at 11.3 and catch percentage at below 60 percent.
A lot of the 2022 struggles had to do with how Samuel started off the season.
“I was kind of behind the eight ball a little bit as far as being in my routine I’d normally be in for the offseason and getting ready to play,” he said. “A lot of distractions were going on. I kind of felt it, but I was just trying to will my way to help the team in every way possible.”
One of those distractions included Samuel’s trade request in the 2022 offseason and subsequent re-upping with the team on a three-year extension worth up to $73.5 million.
During the season, injuries also played a part in his subpar play.
He suffered a hamstring injury in October that sidelined him for one game and later in the season ankle and knee injuries that lingered well into the postseason.
With a clear mind and a sour taste in his mouth from last season’s performance, expect Samuels to return to somewhere near All-Pro level.
