San Francisco 49ers 2019 season Samuel was selected by the
San Francisco 49ers in the second round (36th overall) of the
2019 NFL draft. He signed a four-year contract with the 49ers on July 25, 2019. Samuel made his NFL debut against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, catching three passes for 17 yards and losing a fumble in the 31–17 road victory. In the next game against the
Cincinnati Bengals, he caught five passes for 87 yards and his first NFL touchdown as the 49ers won on the road by a score of 41–17. During Week 8 against the
Carolina Panthers, Samuel caught three passes for 19 yards and rushed for 29 yards and a touchdown in a 51–13 victory. Two weeks later against the
Seattle Seahawks on
Monday Night Football, he caught eight passes for 112 yards in the 27–24 overtime loss. In the next game against the
Arizona Cardinals, Samuel caught eight passes for 134 yards in the 36–26 victory. Samuel would have two more touchdown catches over the next two games against the
Green Bay Packers and
Baltimore Ravens, and would add another rushing score in the Week 16 contest against the
Los Angeles Rams. In the regular-season finale against the Seahawks on
Sunday Night Football, he caught five passes for 102 yards and rushed twice for 33 yards and a touchdown in the 26–21 road victory. During
Super Bowl LIV against the
Kansas City Chiefs, Samuel rushed twice for 53 yards and caught five passes for 39 yards during the 31–20 loss. His 53 rushing yards was the most by a wide receiver in Super Bowl history.
2020 season Samuel was placed on the
non-football injury list at the start of
training camp on July 28, 2020. He was activated on September 5, but was placed on
injured reserve on September 12. He was activated on October 3. He was placed on the reserve/
COVID-19 list by the team on November 4, and activated two days later. In Week 12 against the Rams, he had 11 receptions for 133 receiving yards in the 23–20 victory. Samuel finished the 2020 season with 33 receptions for 391 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.
2021 season During the season-opening 41–33 road victory over the
Detroit Lions, Samuel caught nine passes for 189 yards and a touchdown. In Week 8, Samuel had six catches for 171 yards in a 33–22 win over the Bears, earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week. In Week 10, Samuel had five catches for 97 yards and five carries for 36 yards and two total touchdowns in a 31–10 win over the Rams, earning his second NFC Offensive Player of the Week honor of the season. Over the course of the season, the 49ers increasingly lined Samuel up in the backfield like a traditional
running back, roughly 11% of the time, in order to get the ball in his hands more often and take advantage of his play-making ability. Samuel was elected to the
Pro Bowl for 2021. Throughout the season, Samuel had more rushing touchdowns of 10+ yards (6) than 23 NFL teams, He also holds the record for the most rushing touchdowns in a single season by a wide receiver in NFL history, with 8. In a must-win Week 18 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, Samuel threw a 24-yard touchdown pass, ran for a 16-yard touchdown, and totaled 164 yards. Through the air, Samuel finished the regular season with 77 receptions for 1,405 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns. On the ground, Samuel finished with 59 rushing attempts for 365 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns, the most ever by a wide receiver in a season. Samuel also threw for a touchdown. He was named as a first-team
All-Pro. Against the
Dallas Cowboys in the
Wild Card Round, Samuel caught three passes for 38 yards, and rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown off ten attempts in the 23–17 win. At the
2022 Pro Bowl, Samuel coined the term "wide back" to refer to his position as a wide receiver that started playing running back midway through the
2021 NFL season. He was ranked 19th by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2022.
2022 season During the 2022 offseason, it was reported that Samuel requested to be traded; however, he reported to training camp and ultimately, on July 31, 2022, signed a three-year, $73.5 million contract extension with $58.1 million guaranteed. Against the Rams in Week 4, Samuel had six catches for 115 yards and a touchdown on a 57-yard catch-and-run in the 24–9 win. After Week 7 against the Chiefs, Samuel reportedly had a hamstring issue. Head coach
Kyle Shanahan called the injury day-to-day. This injury ruled Samuel out for Week 8 against the Rams, but Samuel returned after the team's Week 9 bye. Against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 14, Samuel had four catches for 43 yards, including 21 rush yards on 4 rush attempts and a rush touchdown on a 17-yard play. However, Samuel injured his ankle and left the game with no return. It was later reported he may have a high ankle sprain. He returned in Week 18. He finished the 2022 season with 56 receptions for 632 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns to go with 42 rushing attempts for 232 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. He played in the 49ers' three postseason games. Samuel recorded six receptions for 133 yards and a receiving touchdown in the Wild Card Round win over the Seahawks. He was ranked 61st by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2023.
2023 season During Week 2 against the Rams. Samuel recorded six receptions for 63 yards, and had five carries on the ground for 38 yards and a touchdown in the 30–23 victory. During Week 3 against the
New York Giants, he recorded six receptions for 129 yards and one touchdown, and rushed once for two yards in the 30–12 victory. In Week 13, Samuel had four catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns, along with 22 rushing yards and a touchdown in a 42–19 win over the
Philadelphia Eagles, earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week. Prior to the matchup, Samuel was noted for his extensive
trash talk to the Philadelphia team on Twitter (most notably calling Eagles'
corner James Bradberry “trash”.) This occurred due to the events of the 2023 NFC Championship, where Samuel was held to 3 catches in the 31–7 loss. A month later at the
Super Bowl LVIII opening night, when Samuel was asked by reporters if he considers the Eagles and 49ers to be a
rivalry, he said “I consider rivalries close games”. In the following game, he had seven receptions for 149 yards to go with a receiving and rushing touchdown in a win over the Seahawks. In the next game, he had two receiving touchdowns in a win over the Cardinals in Week 15. In Week 18, he crossed 1,000 career rushing yards. With this, he became the second player in NFL history to have 4,000 receiving yards and 1,000 rushing yards in their first five seasons (alongside
Charley Taylor). He finished the 2023 season with 60 receptions for 892 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns to go with 37 rushing attempts for 225 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns in 15 games. Samuel played in
Super Bowl LVIII and caught three passes for 33 yards, but the 49ers lost to the Chiefs 25–22 in overtime. He was ranked 30th by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2024.
2024 season Prior to the 2024 season, Samuel would add multiple changes to his
jersey. This included a number change from 19 to 1, and the addition of "Sr." to his last name after his son, Tyshun Samuel Jr. Samuel would score his first touchdown of the season on a 2-yard rush in the Week 1 Monday Night Football victory over the
New York Jets. During the Week 5 game against the rival
Seattle Seahawks, Samuel scored his first receiving touchdown of the season on a 76-yard pass from
quarterback Brock Purdy as part of a 102-yard game. In Week 13 against the Bills, Samuel had six kickoff returns for 208 return yards. He finished the 2024 season with 51 receptions for 670 yards and three receiving touchdowns to go with 42 carries for 136 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Washington Commanders playing against the
Green Bay Packers, 2025 On March 12, 2025, Samuel was traded to the
Washington Commanders for a fifth-round selection in the
2025 NFL draft. A week later, the team guaranteed his $17 million base salary for 2024 and included an additional $3 million in incentives. Samuel started his season with a win against the
New York Giants in Week 1, a game where his only rushing attempt led to a 19-yard touchdown. He scored another touchdown the following week, though Washington lost 18–27 against the
Green Bay Packers. In Week 4, an injury-affected Washington team lost against the
Atlanta Falcons, though Samuel was his team's top receiver and scored a touchdown after a pass by backup quarterback
Marcus Mariota. Washington beat the
Los Angeles Chargers in Week 5 with the returning
Jayden Daniels, as Samuel completed the scoring with a late receiving touchdown. Samuel finished the 2025 season with 72 receptions for 727 yards and five receiving touchdowns to go with a rushing touchdown. ==Career statistics==