Former San Francisco 49ers star wide receiver Deebo Samuel was traded to the Washington Commanders back in March in exchange for a fifth-round NFL draft pick.

Samuel had spent six seasons with the 49ers and quickly became a huge favorite among fans of the team for his physical style of play and general big play-making ability from just about anywhere head coach Kyle Shanahan lined him up on the field.

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But with his immense popularity often came some pretty loud criticism too, sometimes for a subpar showing, though most of it usually centered around rumors and reports of Samuel showing up to training camp overweight and out of shape.

So on Wednesday afternoon, after a 21-second clip of Deebo running two routes where the 29-year-old wideout appeared to be moving relatively slow, the predictable comments about his weight quickly flowed in at a steady pace.

The viral video on X and its accompanying criticism eventually made its way to former 49ers teammate and All-Pro tight end George Kittle, who was quick to slam the door shut on all the fat jokes and endless “he’s cooked” comments.

“It’s called group install when players jog thru plays. Knock it off,” Kittle said in response to the question of, “What do you notice?”

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The question being posed was a pretty obvious invitation for an avalanche of jokes about Samuel and with over 1.2 million views on the post and a sea of harsh comments, we can safely consider that mission was accomplished.

While Kittle is widely known to be just about as loyal as it comes in terms of being a great teammate, both past and present, the five-time All-Pro clearly knows his football too and “group install” is very much a thing that absolutely involves jogging through plays, especially during a minicamp workout.

Kittle’s notable clarification about the video was quickly supported by 13-year NFL veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner, who succinctly said, “Exactly.”

And that’s probably all anyone really needs to know about the clip.

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Time will surely tell for Samuel when Week 1 of the NFL season rolls around and he suits up for the Commanders, officially hitting the field at whatever his top speed proves to be.

But generally speaking, it’s probably a sound idea to listen to the professionals when it comes to very brief clips that often leave a lot of room for a wide range of interpretation and open season for exaggerated snark, like “Impressive route given the piano on his back.”

Related: Photo of Pope Leo XIV Repping MLB Team Goes Viral

George Kittle Puts Critical Fans in Check Over Viral Deebo Samuel Clip first appeared on Men’s Journal on Jun 12, 2025