49ers’ Deebo Samuel doesn’t regret calling James Bradberry ‘trash’ or ripping the Eagles. Get ready for a fun week.
The Niners wideout hasn't stopped complaining about the way the NFC title game unfolded.
The Eagles and 49ers might not seem like a natural choice for a rivalry.
But after Philadelphia beat an under-manned San Francisco squad in the NFC championship game in January, 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel took a few shots at the Eagles ー most notably calling cornerback James Bradberry “trash” on the I AM ATHLETE podcast.
“Most hated team is the Eagles right now. 100 percent,” Samuel told Complex in May.
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Sunday, the Eagles and 49ers meet for the first time since the championship game, which Philadelphia won 31-7 while San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy tore his UCL. But the time passed didn’t make Samuel have a change of heart.
“I don’t regret nothing I said,” Samuel told reporters Monday.
Despite Samuel’s hate for the Eagles, receiver A.J. Brown is a big fan of the 49ers player, posting on X last year that Samuel was his favorite player in the league. After Samuel’s original comments, Brown defended him, posting on X that “Deebo a troll y’all, he don’t care. He just wanted to stir up everyone day.” He later deleted the post.
Ahead of Sunday’s game, though, Brown is giving Eagles fans free reign to troll Samuel.
The rematch between the NFC’s two best teams so far this season was already set to be a thrilling matchup. The 49ers offense averages the third-most yards with 386.1 and their defense allows the fifth-fewest yards per game, at 295.3.
It might be all love for Samuel and Brown off the field, but Samuel and San Francisco come into Sunday’s game with something to prove.
Ahead of the Super Bowl in February, Samuel told SiriusXM that the 49ers would’ve beat the Eagles by double digits if Brock Purdy didn’t get hurt. The Eagles were already up 7-0 and had just taken over at midfield following the injury.
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He doubled down a few months later.
“100 percent. I ain’t going to keep going on about what could’ve happened and what would’ve happened but yeah, it would’ve definitely been a different outcome,” Samuel told Complex in May. “We lost because we played with 10 people.”
The Eagles can shut all that down on Sunday, and take even further control of the race for the top seed in the NFC, with a win.