Deebo Samuel has no doubt the San Francisco 49ers can win a Super Bowl with Trey Lance at quarterback. Recovering from two ankle surgeries, Lance expects to be full-go once the 49ers kick off organized team activities in May. Jimmy Garoppolo is scheduled to hit free agency, and Brock Purdy will undergo surgery on February 22 to repair the ligament damage suffered in the NFC Championship Game, sidelining him for about six months.
That leaves Lance as the only healthy 49ers quarterback heading into the offseason. He'll have an opportunity to prove to his coaches that he can still be the team's starter.
The 49ers have come close to a championship during three of the last four seasons, reaching the NFC Championship Game three times and the Super Bowl once. On Thursday, Rich Eisen asked Samuel if San Francisco can win a Super Bowl with Lance under center.
"Yes, sir," Samuel responded.
On Wednesday, Lance sat down with Eisen and shared that he doesn't expect or want the starting job handed to him. Instead, he expects to earn it.
"Brock played way too well, and Brock played at such a high level and handled himself the right way," Lance said. "I wouldn't want it to be a situation where I'm just handed something."
Samuel has a great deal of respect for Lance and the response the quarterback provided to Eisen.
"That just shows you the type of person Trey is, knowing the 12 [game win] streak that Brock came off of," Samuel said. "I mean, nothing is going to be handed to any quarterback that comes in. Kyle is going to make sure everybody gets a fair chance to compete to be the guy that runs the offense."
49ers WR Deebo Samuel rips his 2022 performance: 'It was awful'
By Kirk Larrabee
Jun 6
Deebo Samuel made it clear Tuesday he's on a mission to erase all memories of his performance during the 2022 season, which he feels was nowhere near his previously established level of play.
The 49ers' standout wide receiver/running back addressed that performance during a press conference on Day 1 of 49ers mandatory minicamp. He did not hold back when issuing a critique of how things went for him in 2022.
"Oh, it was awful," Samuel said. "Every aspect."
Samuel, 27, caught 56 passes for 632 yards in 13 games last season while rushing for 232 yards and three touchdowns on 42 carries. There were moments on the field when Samuel certainly made his presence felt, but overall he fell short of making the type of impact he made in 2021, when he caught 77
Podcast: 49ers' Deebo Samuel out of shape last year, led to "awful" year
By Rohan Chakravarthi
Jun 6
Rohan Chakravarthi and Marco Martinez discuss the San Francisco 49ers minicamp, as well as comments from Deebo Samuel and other 49ers players.
The audio for the show is embedded above, while the video is available below.
You can listen to "The Rohan Chakravarthi Show" from our
49ers Mailbag: What happens if Sam Darnold beats out Trey Lance? Which rookie will play the most in 2023? Which question stumped us?
By Marc Adams
May 31
What happens if Sam Darnold beats out Trey Lance? We're answering this question and others in this week's edition of the 49ers Webzone Mailbag.
It's week two of OTAs, and the 49ers will have a session open to the media on Wednesday. It may even be happening as you're reading this. And Brock Purdy is believed to start throwing a ball this week (though probably not a regular football).
But for now, ignore those reports, and let's jump into our latest mailbag and answer your questions.
Who's starting on Opening Day at FS? - Chris W.
The 49ers re-signed veteran free safety Tashaun Gipson to a one-year deal and drafted Penn State safety Ji'Ayir Brown back in April. Brown is the future starting free safety. That future is most likely to
What to make of Jeff Darlington's report on 49ers QB Trey Lance's first-team reps
By David Bonilla
May 31
ESPN's Jeff Darlington recently appeared on the network's NFL Live show and discussed the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback situation, highlighting Trey Lance's healthy state and current workload during organized team activities (OTAs).
"Trey Lance is the guy during OTAs who's been taking all the 1st-team reps; he's healthy at this point," Darlington said, per Dov Kleiman of BroBible. "Sam Darnold really getting backup duty as he kinda gets his playbook under his belt. But for now, Trey Lance getting his opportunity with those first-team reps."
What is the takeaway from these comments? Nothing, really. We
