In the free-agency period, the Washington Commanders made good progress toward the 2025 season — including a pair of key trades. One of those players, Deebo Samuel, got reunited with a Patriots legend, according to a post on X by Mike Reiss.
Wes Welker, who was in the news last week as a worthy nominee for the Patriots Hall of Fame (672 catches over 6 regular seasons + another 69 in playoffs), is in the news again this week.
Welker, the former Dolphins WRs coach, has landed on the Commanders staff, per sources.
Welker served as the 49ers wide receivers coach from 2019-21 and had Samuel under his wing.
Wes Welker pushed Samuel to lose weight in 2020
When Samuel arrived in San Francisco, the 49ers believed him to be too heavy to reach full effectiveness. That led to long runs before practice with Welker overseeing them. Welker tried to get Samuel down to 212 pounds, but settled at 220, according to nytimes.com.
“Wes is hard on Deebo,” Samuel’s college coach, Will Muschamp, said. “Deebo’s a guy that’s always got to worry about his weight a little bit as far as the offseason and those things.”
But Samuel had high praise for Welker, according to ninersnation.com back in 2022. Samuel said Welker could be the next Mike McDaniel, current Miami Dolphins head coach.
(It’s) how he helps us with install,” Samuel said. “How he goes over the install with us. Just hearing how he talks about things that could actually help. I think he makes it relatable. He’s been in the league for a long time and seen a lot of plays. I think it’s just the mindset that he has.”
Samuel hopes to add a key weapon to the Commanders’ offense that thrived in 2024 under the direction of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who made second-fiddle guys look a lot better at times. Now Daniels has a second lead-chair guy to go along with Terry McLaurin.
This coming season, McLaurin and Samuel are expected to lead the way with Noah Brown taking over the No. 3 spot. Michael Gallup, Luke McCaffrey, and K.J. Osborn are also in the mix. It’s not out of the realm of possibility for the Commanders to get another wide receiver in the draft. That’s especially true if a potential standout falls into their lap.
