49ers in Five: Is Deebo Samuel coming around to returning to San Francisco?

There’s an old expression that it’s harder to hold a grudge against someone than it is to forgive them and move forward. Has Deebo Samuel taken that to heart? We may have gotten our first sign of that yesterday.

Before we get there, here’s what NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco said about the situation yesterday on KNBR:

“I think the goal for the 49ers is to get him under contract before training camp starts...It’s not happening today or tomorrow, I don’t think, but it’s gonna be something that’s going to take a little bit of time.

The question is, though, how much is Deebo Samuel going to dig in? I just don’t see the logic in him digging in because he’s a professional football player. Professional football players want to get paid for their services. If he’s not with the 49ers, if he doesn’t show up, he’s not getting paid. In fact, money is coming out of his pocket.

So, I’d be surprised if they don’t make this work...I would suspect at some point, once Deebo realizes for sure that he’s not going anywhere. Once there’s no other recourse for both sides, then they’ll get together and work that thing out.”

We may have already reached that point because yesterday, both Deebo Samuel and his brother expressed interest in a possible deal getting done on social media.

Considering we first became aware of this whole controversy after Deebo scrubbed his Instagram and Tyquan said they were requesting a trade, this is obviously a good sign.

Kyle Shanahan has always been on good terms with Deebo Samuel. In that interview on KNBR, Maiocco said Kyle is closer to Samuel than any other player he’s ever coached. That kind of relationship doesn’t just evaporate in one offseason.

As we wrote yesterday, the framework of a deal has been laid out by the Eagles and AJ Brown. Even if pen isn’t put on paper until later in the summer, it’s nice to see a thawing of the ice between Deebo and the team.

Our long nightmare may soon be coming to an end.