Deebo Samuel, Trent Williams provide 49ers with leadership - ESPN

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — It was July 30, 2022, three months after Deebo Samuel had requested a trade in the middle of lengthy and occasionally contentious contract negotiations, and the San Francisco 49ers receiver was sitting on a couch in left tackle Trent Williams' home.

Samuel was waiting on a phone call, hoping to end the «most stressful» time of his life with a life-changing new deal. Finally, it came — official news from agent Tory Dandy that Samuel's three-year extension with $58.1 million in guaranteed money was done.

«We was just chilling,» Samuel told ESPN, smiling at the memory while sitting near Williams on another couch in the 49ers' public relations office. «And then we just went crazy.»

Samuel jumped off the couch, yelled and bolted out the door, running up and down the street of Williams' Morgan Hill neighborhood in celebration. Williams, who served as consigliere to Samuel and Niners coach Kyle Shanahan throughout the negotiations, filmed it all.

«I just went on ahead and started recording,» Williams said. «I needed to capture that memory.»

In 49ers lore, it's a moment that could be remembered for much more, as the team kept one of its best players and ensured that Samuel, 28, and Williams, 35, could continue setting a physical, confident tone in the franchise's pursuit of a sixth Lombardi Trophy. It was a significant benchmark in a fast friendship that has developed since Williams was traded to the Niners in 2020.

For Samuel, the do-it-all «wide back,» it meant more opportunities to pick Williams' brain and perfect his craft. For Williams, the stalwart blindside protector, it meant more lessons in the art of trash talk as a byproduct of Samuel's supreme self-confidence.

Together, the former roommates have