Deebo on his usage: I don’t mind doing whatever it takes for this team to win

49ers star wide receiver Deebo Samuel spoke to the media Tuesday for the first time since he signed his three-year extension. Samuel said, “there was a lot of things that came out that I wanted to speak on, but at the end of the day, I wasn’t allowed to.”

During the offseason, all we heard about was how Samuel set straight a few narratives, including how he was upset about his usage:

“False. So, you can turn on the tape, go back to the Cowboys game, it kind of shows what kind of player I am. And also, you can go turn on the Pro Bowl tape and what I said about being a wideback, I don’t mind doing whatever it takes for this team to win.”

There haven’t been any backfield carries yet for Deebo, but plenty of screens and short passes have been thrown his way — which serve as an extension of the running game.

Deebo recalled when he was first asked to be a team player. He said Shanahan walked up to him one day and asked if he would mind running the ball that week. Samuel, with his ‘whatever it takes’ mindset, was willing, knowing he’s good with the ball in his hands.

Samuel wasn’t thrilled with the stories about him: “You kind of try to avoid it, but when it’s thrown in your face, you're just like, ‘yo, they just, at this point, they’re kind of making up stuff.”

Deebo didn’t back down from his trade request: “At the end of the day, this is a business, and we came to a decision, and I’m here, so I’m happy to be here. And that’s just what it is.” Deebo credited talking to Trent Williams and Kyle Shanahan for helping him get through stressful times.

Communication. A word used five times by Samuel during his presser. When asked what changed during the offseason, communication was Samuel’s answer: The more we communicated, the more we started to figure things out.

Deebo spoke about his relationship, which gives you an idea of how close their relationship is:

“I think it all started for me with Kyle at the Senior Bowl. Kind of getting a feel of who he was. Kyle, I can’t even explain our relationship. It’s just crazy. Like there’s not a day I don’t go in there, talk to him or whenever he’s in the offseason in San Diego at his beach house or whatever, he’ll FaceTime me on the water. It’s just that kind of relationship I have with him outside. It’s not necessarily about football. It’s just about life.”

It’s difficult to imagine Samuel walking away from three more years of playing with Shanahan after reading that.