San Francisco 49ers star Deebo Samuel has had a down year in 2024, and he especially struggled in the team's 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday. Samuel's performance against the Rams drew criticism from 49ers Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice.
Prior to Thursday's contest, Samuel had been vocal about his lack of targets in recent weeks. However, during Thursday's game, Samuel dropped a key pass that he could've potentially ran for a touchdown.
The Deebo Samuel noise is going to get a lot louder after this third down drop... pic.twitter.com/PhXVptCivh
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) December 13, 2024
Rice joined 95.7 The Game's "The Morning Roast" on Monday, where he talked about Samuel's recent issues in the passing game.
"I don't know what is going on because the weirdest thing is I think he had like three catches for 16 yards ... for me, I would have been pissed," Rice told radio hosts Bonta Hill and Joe Shasky. "I would have been pissed at myself, I would have been pissed at the whole scenario, and I would pretty much go to work on the football field, at practice. And if you do it during practice, you're going to be able to do it during the game.
"That ball that he dropped, after you complain about not getting that many touches, you cannot drop the football. Because everybody is going to get down on you and they're going to come after you. I never said anything about not getting touches or anything like that. I just worked, man. I just kept working, and if you show it during practice, they're going to make the call during the actual football game where you're going to have opportunities, where you can make catches, get into a rhythm and be productive."
Samuel has 43 receptions for 569 yards and just one touchdown on the season, while also adding 95 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. In his last five games, Samuel has racked up just 101 yards on 14 catches, and hasn't gotten into the end zone since Oct. 10 against the Seattle Seahawks.
The 49ers have struggled as a team with injuries to key offensive playmakers like Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk, so Samuel's drops have been an even bigger storyline throughout this season.
