The Washington Commanders were one of the biggest surprises in the 2024 NFL season, but they may not have that shock factor anymore in the 2025 campaign. Everyone now has an idea about how good quarterback Jayden Daniels can be in the pros after he electrified NFL fans in his first season in the league. Then again, the Commanders could only be just starting. The next challenge for them is to get their game to the next level, and to help them achieve that goal is newcomer Deebo Samuel Sr.
After spending his first six seasons in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers, Samuel was traded by the Niners to the Commanders last March for a fifth-rounder in the 2025 NFL draft. Weeks later, he agreed to a one-year renegotiated contract worth $17 million with Washington, which now has a one-time Pro Bowler as part of Daniels’ downfield armory.
Dan Quinn knows how tough it is to slow down Samuel
As a former defensive coordinator, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn know what it’s like to be on the other side dealing with a talent like Samuel. But now, he doesn’t have to worry about that going forward.
“He was such a difficult person to tackle that you spent so much time, ‘How are you going to tackle this person?’ ” Quinn said (via Zach Selby of the Commanders’ official team website). “And so, sometimes when you’re playing against the receiver, you say, ‘Man, you better either get him at the line or you better be on top of him.’ With him, so many times there were so many runs after catch plays that we had a tackling plan, and how would you go about it?”
So far in his NFL career, Samuel has racked up 4,792 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns on 334 receptions and 510 targets through 81 games.
