Deebo Samuel has been a unique skill set to the NFL since being drafted in the second round of the 2019 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers and will now get the chance to play for his first team other than the 49ers for the first time in his career after being traded to the Washington Commanders for a fifth-round pick this offseason.
Samuel has been a gadget tool for the 49ers, as they utilized him in both the run and pass game, and he will now have the opportunity to continue contending for a Super Bowl ring with the Commanders. It is unknown what kind of role Samuel will play with his new team, but it would be odd to not see Kliff Kingsbury use him in a variety of ways to create havoc for opposing defenses and to give Jayden Daniels a multitude of different avenues to make plays.
The Commanders will only have Samuel on the last year of his contract before he is set to enter free agency in 2026, so it will be up to him to earn the contract that he wants. However, there are still games that need to be played before we get to that point, and in a recent announcement from the team we now know that Samuel will be rocking the jersey number one come time to hit the gridiron.
For the majority of his NFL career, Deebo wore the number 19 with the 49ers until the league changed the rules allowing for single digits to be worn. Once that occurred, Samuel quickly pounced on the opportunity to return to the number one -- the same number that he wore during his high school playing days as well as during his time electrifying the South Eastern Conference (SEC) for the South Carolina Gamecocks.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Deebo would reprise the number that he has worn the majority of his career, but it does come with some question marks as recently re-signed cornerback Noah Igbinoghene previously wore the number for the Commanders in 2024.
As it is with any star player making his way to a new team, sometimes deals need to be hashed out between the former owner and its new owner for the switch to be made. Now, whether or not that happened with Samuel and Igbinoghene, it remains to be heard but Samuel will indeed be suiting up with the 1 across his chest come time for ball to start being played.
