Tuesday evening, Bleacher Report unveiled its latest podcast, Cleats and Convos with Deebo Samuel. During the inaugural episode, Samuel was joined by fellow San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
The star wideouts detailed what goes on behind the scenes in contract negotiations, referencing Aiyuk's wild offseason. But it was Samuel who dropped the gauntlet on the team's future.
"It's now or never," Samuel said when talking about winning the Super Bowl. "I've been a part of the best team in the NFL for the past going on six years. We got to get it done."
San Francisco has come painfully close to the mountaintop since Samuel was selected 36th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft. They have lost to the Kansas City Chiefs twice on the world's biggest stage. They have also lost twice in the NFC Championship during his tenure in San Francisco.
There is a very good chance that his sentiments about the window closing are accurate.
The 49ers are estimated to be $30 million over the salary cap following Aiyuk's four-year, $120 million contract extension. They are already tied into massive contracts with Christian McCaffrey, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, Aiyuk and Samuel.
Next season, safety Talanoa Hufanga, cornerback Charvarius Ward, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, guard Aaron Banks and nickelback Deommodore Lenoir are all free agents.
Let's not forget that 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is still on his rookie contract. That will need to be re-negotiated next offseason as well. Undoubtedly, San Francisco will face some very difficult decisions and the time is now.
The 49ers are coming off a disappointing 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. To make matters worse, they were dealt another tough injury with Samuel suffering a calf strain during the game.
Samuel is expected to miss a couple weeks of action. They are already without McCaffrey who is on IR with a calf injury of his own.
They will look to climb back on the right side of .500 this weekend against the Los Angeles Rams, who are dealing with crucial injuries as well.
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