Commanders' Deebo Samuel gets bad news on $17.5 million contract

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Commanders' Deebo Samuel gets bad news on $17.5 million contract originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

It wasn't Deebo Samuel's fault that the Washington Commanders had a bad season.

In fact, he was probably one of the brighter spots for long stretches as the Commanders battled lots of injuries and much more losing than anticipated.

But it'll go down as a Washington tenure that just didn't work out for Samuel, who's now heading for free agency.

And in a new article on Thursday, ESPN's Bill Barnwell had some more bad news for Samuel.

"There's a useful player here, but Samuel's injury history, problems holding on to the football and age (he turns 30 in January) will limit his market," Barnwell writes. "It would be surprising if Samuel landed a multiyear guarantee, and he's likely to take a pay cut from the $17.5 million he made this season."

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Even when Jayden Daniels played this season, Samuel wasn't a down-the-field threat.

"Even if you prorate out Samuel's six games with Daniels under center, we end up with 99 catches for just 850 yards, which tells you how much of Samuel's production came on screens and lateral throws around the line of scrimmage," Barnwell writes. "His average target with Daniels on the field traveled just 4.5 yards in the air, which would rank 65th out of 67 wideouts in terms of target depth over a full season."

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A team that signs Samuel has to have a plan to use the former 49ers receiver effectively.

He's still dangerous with the football in his hands thanks to his speed and strength that make him tough to tackle.

But he's also lacking a number of the traditional traits of a wide receiver, which means to get the most out of Deebo, you have to specifically embrace the fact that your team has Deebo.

Someone will sign him and make the most of it, but it likely won't be for the amount Samuel would've commanded a season or two ago.