During the offseason, one of the Washington Commanders’ biggest splashes was acquiring wide receiver Deebo Samuel from the San Francisco 49ers. Before training camp gets underway, one trainer spoke out about the growing narrative surrounding the veteran wideout.
As he prepares for his first season with a new team, Samuel was present for OTAs and minicamp. While there, clips of him running routes went viral online. Many called him out for his running and physical appearance, stating that he looked overweight.
Since minicamp, countless people in and around the league have taken shots at Samuel over his conditioning. Upon having the chance to speak about the topic, his trainer quickly shut down any notion that he isn’t ready to go for the 2025 campaign.
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While on NFL insider John Keim’s podcast, Nick Hill touched on the discourse around Samuel. He also dove into why the Commanders’ new addition looked different from what many are accustomed to seeing in regards to physical appearance.
“Most of my guys, they’re a little bit bigger in those early offseason phases,” Hill said. “They’re not running as much. We’re not doing as much sprint work or cardio, that’s when they’re putting on a bit more muscle…So the media hasn’t seen a lot of him in those months training because he’s training with me usually. So I think that fluctuation, which is totally normal for us, and is not out of the ordinary, was just new from a media standpoint.”
When it comes to being ready for his first training camp with the Commanders, Hill praised the work Samuel has been putting in behind the scenes.
“We’re going at 6:00 in the morning every day right now,” Hill continued. “He goes 6:00 in the morning, he has a speed and power lift session with me. He does an afternoon cardio session. Then he runs routes later in the evening. So he’s going two, three sessions a day.”
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Samuel, 31, is coming off a down year with the 49ers last season. However, based on Hill’s confident remarks, it appears he’s poised to bounce back with the Commanders. Playing alongside another dynamic receiver in Terry McLaurin and a rising star in Jayden Daniels, the pieces are in place for him to shine on a team with championship aspirations.
Samuel and the rest of the Commanders’ veterans are set to arrive for training camp on Tuesday, July 22nd.
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