Deebo Samuel to skip 49ers OTAs

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49ers star wide receiver Deebo Samuel was seen on the sidelines of the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors game Sunday night:

With the Niners beginning OTAs Monday, it was evident Samuel wasn’t making it back to Santa Clara in time for practice.

That’s not much of a surprise, as Deebo is looking for a contract extension. As long as he has a rookie contract, Samuel is unlikely to step onto the field during the 49ers’ offseason program. It’s been over a month since San Francisco began its offseason program that primarily consists of conditioning.

So, if you believe Samuel is staying in shape, the only thing he’s missing out on during the next week or so is reps with Trey Lance. I could see the argument of those reps being valuable, but you don’t have to worry as long as there are no pads on.

I doubt we see the extreme responses calling Samuel a “diva” for missing OTAs. George Kittle said Samuel is in a “good place” amid his current contract situation. A month ago, it seemed as though Samuel was on the verge of being traded. As OTAs get underway, Samuel has little to no leverage.

It’s also worth noting that parts of the offseason program have been shortened. Phase 2, which concluded last week, was reduced from three weeks to one. Also, no live contact is permitted. So, now that we are in Phase 3, which runs through June 10, there won’t be any 7-on-7 or full team drills.

The next key date for Samuel is the mandatory minicamp, which is from June 15-17. After the mandatory minicamp comes training camp at the end of July. The window of June 17 through July 28 is likely when we see an extension gets done for Samuel.