Deebo Samuel Sr. Camp Update — August 23: A Practice Score, a Role Still Forming

Deebo Samuel caught a touchdown from Adrian Martinez in Saturday's practice, per David Bonilla at 49ers Webzone — the first piece of logged on-field production in the accessed coverage since his August 1 return to San Francisco. No receiving line for him appeared in the coverage of Thursday's game against the Chargers, so the file on his second Niners stint is still mostly words. But the words are specific, and they come from the man who signed him: general manager John Lynch, per Pro Football Talk, said in early August, "You are going to see him in the return game, at receiver, and at running back." Last week's headline-level note about Samuel taking running back reps while Christian McCaffrey sits — which we could not read past the headline then and still cannot — at least matches the plan Lynch described on the record.

The room he's fitting into sharpened this week. McCaffrey still hasn't practiced since August 8, which keeps the all-purpose version of Samuel relevant to the backfield math. Rookie De'Zhaun Stribling ran his preseason total to 11 catches for a hundred nine yards and is claiming receiver work by production, per Brooke Evans at 49ers.com, while Christian Kirk stayed out with his calf. The target competition Samuel joined is thinner at the top and louder at the bottom than it was when he signed.

Back in June, with Samuel still unsigned and filed under Washington, the open question was situation rather than player; the situation is settled now, and what's left is how a 30-year-old all-purpose piece fits a contender's crowded offense — a Saturday touchdown and a general manager's three-position sentence are the first entries. What to watch: whether Samuel plays Thursday in Las Vegas, and what mix of receiver, backfield, and return work the first real usage shows. We'll check after cut day.

_Data via nflverse._