It appears the relationship between Deebo Samuel and the 49ers is not great at the moment, but it could be worse. Much, much worse.
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, like Samuel, is heading into the fourth year of his rookie contract. On Thursday, reports surfaced that the club had not made an offer of an extension to Murray, and subsequently his agent was pulling their original proposal off the table.
The Arizona quarterback was named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2019 and was voted to the Pro Bowl in his two subsequent seasons. Like Samuel, Murray has seen tremendous paydays for the top level of his position group and feels like he should be rewarded accordingly.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Murray is scheduled to earn approximately $5.5 million, which is significantly lower than the top at his position.
As the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Murray has two years left on a five-year contract but is eligible for an extension. Samuel, as a second-round pick, has one remaining season, which would make reaching an agreement more of a priority for the 49ers than the Cardinals with their quarterback.
While Samuel followed Murray’s lead in scrubbing his social media of any team images or videos, the "wide back" has not offered any explanations. Murray and his agent have been much more public about their dissatisfaction regarding negotiations. Samuel is set to earn approximately $4 million in the final year of his contract, which is well below his value on the field.
San Francisco 49ers
Find the latest San Francisco 49ers news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
A differentiating factor could be the close relationship that Samuel has with his head coach. Kyle Shanahan and his playmaker are regularly seen chatting while the special teams unit is on the field at the start of each practice.
RELATED: Deebo's apparent 49ers dissatisfaction open to interpretation
Samuel might not be happy about the state of a potential extension, but making the discontent open for public consumption would be bad PR for all parties.
NBC Sports Bay Area has reached out for comment from Samuel's agent, Tory Dandy, but has not received a response. It would be understandable for Samuel, like Murray, to not play this season until an agreement is reached.
But there is still quite a bit of time before a potential holdout becomes a reality.
