Dan Quinn shuts down questions about Deebo Samuel's speed: 'He's one of the fastest players on the team'

Quinn said he was reminded of how fast Samuel is recently at Commanders training camp

A viral video from OTAs last week showed Deebo Samuel moving at less than full speed -- sparking speculation about the veteran wideout's effort level with his new team. But Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn seemed to quickly shut down that narrative, instead praising Samuel's explosiveness early this offseason.

"Somewhere along the way, I've forgotten until out here how fast he is," Quinn said last Thursday, ironically the day after the video made its rounds on social media.

Samuel was one of the Commanders marquee offseason additions, acquired in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. Washington sent a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and guaranteed $17 million of Samuel's 2025 salary, with another $3 million available through incentives.

"He was such a difficult person to tackle that you spent so much time, 'How are you going to tackle this person?'" Quinn said. "... Sometimes when you're playing against the receiver you say, 'Man, you better either get him at the line or you better be on top of him.' With him, so many times there were so many run-after-catch plays that we had a tackling plan and how would you go about it? And then I can remember one time he just ran by somebody down the field on a deep ball and I was like, 'Yeah, I forgot about that.'"

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Samuel has also addressed concerns about his weight following the trade in March, noting on social media that he weighed 225 pounds last season. He is listed at 215 pounds on the Commanders' roster. Samuel recorded 51 receptions for 670 yards last year with the 49ers, marking the lowest totals of his career in a season with at least 13 games played.

Last season, Samuel led all wide receivers with 28 tackles avoided. Since entering the NFL in 2019, he has avoided 201 tackles -- 88 more than the next closest player, Cordarrelle Patterson, who has 113, according to TruMedia.

Despite the questions surrounding his conditioning, Quinn emphasized just how quick Samuel remains on the field.

"It didn't surprise me, but it was maybe I missed talking about it to that space because I was easily reminded -- he's one of the fastest players on the team," Quinn said.