Deebo Samuel Sr. makes dominant return to San Francisco in rout over Los Angeles Rams

If there were any doubts about whether or not wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. has still got it, he erased those on Thursday night. The 30-year-old San Francisco 49ers receiver made a triumphant return to the team that drafted him out of South Carolina in 2019. Samuel did just about everything you can imagine during the 49ers 27-7 rout of the Los Angeles Rams in Sydney, Australia. 

The game marked the league's first-ever game in Australia, and Samuel put on a show. The 30-year-old former Gamecock finished with six receptions for 48 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown from Brock Purdy in the third quarter:

It was a big day for Purdy and San Francisco's offense, which was led by receivers Demarcus Robinson and Mike Evans, who came over for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason. Evans finished with six catches for 49 yards and a touchdown, averaging 8.2 yards per catch. Robinson led the receivers, getting two catches for 50 yards and a 39-yard touchdown pass from Purdy in the second quarter. 

But Samuel wasn't just effective in the 49ers' passing game. He also showed off his playmaking ability on special teams. To open the third quarter, he had a 45-yard kickoff return down the left sideline: 

The great field position allowed the 49ers to take a 10-point lead off a seven-play, 51-yard scoring drive. He had another kickoff return for 29 yards. 

Samuel's return to San Francisco was a welcome sight for both South Carolina and Bay Area fans. The receiver spent the last season with the Washington Commanders, where he had a quieter season statistically. With the Commanders, he had 72 receptions for 727 yards with five touchdowns. The Commanders finished 5-12 last season, as starting quarterback Jayden Daniels missed several games due to injury.   

In San Fran, he is expected to be a favorite target of Purdy throughout the season, as demonstrated on Thursday night. But Samuel, along with Evans and Robinson could likely be an even bigger focal point of the 49ers passing attack in the coming weeks. That's because rookie receiver De'Zhaun Stribling, who was expected to get a good chunk of catches, left Thursday's game with an apparent ankle injury. 

It's unclear just how much time Stribling will miss, but expect Samuel to get more targets as a result. 

At South Carolina, Samuel played under Will Muschamp from 2015-2018. Across his four seasons, he accounted for 148 2,076 yards with 16 touchdowns. He also had 154 rushing yards with seven touchdowns, getting another 1,219 yards on kickoff returns with returned for touchdowns. 

The next chance to watch Samuel and the 49ers will be on Sunday, aSan Francisco takes on the Miami Dolphins at home.    

South Carolina dealing with injury in secondary against Towson

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow