George Kittle has been making the media rounds today. Of course, among the questions directed toward the All-Pro tight end involves the status of Samuel. After all, it's a storyline that dominated NFL headlines heading into the draft.
"I actually talked to him a few days ago," Kittle said on The Pat McAfee Show. "Yeah, he seemed like he was in a good mood. He was hanging out with his kid, who he just had. ... I didn't ask about his contract, so we were just talking about other things, where he's training at, and we ended up talking about sneakers for a little bit because we both are sneakerheads. So that was our entire conversation, but he seems like he's in a good place.
"I think Deebo knows that this team loves him. We'd love to have him here. If he wants to play somewhere else, hey, it is what it is. It's a business, so I wish him nothing but the best of luck if he goes somewhere else."
Neither the 49ers nor Samuel discussing the reasoning behind the rift led to a lot of speculation from the media. One of the rumored reasons for Samuel's trade request was that the receiver didn't want to be on the West Coast anymore.
Kittle also appeared on The Rich Eisen Show and was asked about that specific rumor.
"The tax rates are a little tough out here," Kittle told Eisen (h/t TheSFNiners). "I totally understand that vibe. I understand it. If Deebo wants to play for the Niners, he'll play for the Niners. If he doesn't, I wish him the best of luck wherever he does [play]. Deebo's a hell of a football player. He's a great human being. So it's whatever he wants to do.
"He's not angry at anybody here on the team. We're not distracted by anything that he's doing. It's his decision. We'd love to have him back. If he doesn't want to, we'll all support him wherever he wants to go."
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