The San Francisco 49ers have finished seven days of their training camp program before having Wednesday off, and with star receiver Deebo Samuel returning to practice on Monday after signing an extension, let's take a look into the early connection between him and second-year quarterback Trey Lance.
Samuel, who signed a three-year extension worth up to $73.5 million on Sunday, was seen in uniform for the first time on Monday, although he had been conditioning on the sidelines on days prior to the announcement of the deal.
Samuel was worked into the offense upon his return, spending a majority of his early snaps with the second-team offense and quarterback Nate Sudfeld.
However, on Monday, Samuel was seen working with Trey Lance and the quarterbacks during warmups on deep passes.
On Tuesday, after having zero connections on Monday, the duo finally connected, with Lance finding Samuel on a screen pass that went 15 yards, as well as a 20-yard play that required an impressive throw in to a tight window over the middle.
However, on Wednesday, the two didn't seem on the same page, as Samuel dropped a touchdown pass on a beautiful deep-fade with Emmanuel Moseley in coverage. Then, Samuel ran a 20-yard out-route, while Lance threw a 40-yard go-route, throwing another incompletion.
Is there any reason to worry?
Of course not.
Remember, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk initially struggled to win against top cornerbacks Charvarius Ward and Emmanuel Moseley over the first two days of practice, before dominating over the last few days.
Additionally, Samuel's explosiveness appears to be there still, as evidenced on the screen pass.
With the two having four days of camp to continue working on their connection, as well as the entire month prior to the regular season, it'll be interesting to monitor Lance's favorite targets.