Deebo reveals his advice to Aiyuk amid ‘tough’ contract situation

SANTA CLARA — Having gone through his own lengthy contract negotiations in 2022, Deebo Samuel has been offering support to 49ers teammate Brandon Aiyuk. "As much as I can actually," Samuel said Tuesday after Day 1 of mandatory minicamp. "I know this is a stressful time and he's done a tremendous job throughout his career here, and when it comes to things like this, it gets tough. Some things you kind of take personal, and overall it's just a stressful process to be honest with you." Like Aiyuk, Samuel was in the final year of his rookie contract in 2022, looking for a well-deserved extension. The South Carolina product, however, attended mandatory minicamp before his holdout began during training camp. An agreement between the 49ers and Samuel's representation was not finalized until July 31, 2022. The "wide back" admitted it had a lasting effect on him during the process that lingered through the beginning of the season. "Oh yeah, for sure," Samuel said. "At the end of the day you want to get what you deserve and you hope it happens, but it's not going to happen in the timely manner that you want it to happen. It's just a waiting game and it's a situation where his agent...