He might not have considered it a big deal at the time, but 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan decided he had to address the issue after seeing it become a national topic.
The 49ers' victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday was only part of the story. One of the highlights that got a lot of air time was a brief sideline skirmish involving wide receiver Deebo Samuel and long snapper Taybor Pepper.
Kicker Jake Moody missed his third field goal of the game, and Samuel had some words for the second-year kicker. Pepper took exception, and Samuel ended up taking a swipe at Pepper.
Shanahan said he talked to the players involved, as well as some others on the team, in order to put the incident in the rear view mirror.
“We squashed it, and we’re good,” Shanahan said Monday on a conference call with Bay Area reporters.
“I think it was a little bit of an overreaction. You never want Deebo to throw a baby punch or anything on anybody on our own team. But Deebo also wasn’t saying anything bad to Jake like it sounded.”
Moody missed three field goals but made a 44-yarder as time expired for the 49ers’ 23-20 victory over the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.
San Francisco 49ers
It was after Moody’s third miss — also from 44 yards — that Samuel went onto the field to address Moody.
"Normally I don't even get like that, but just frustrated in the heat of battle, you know," Samuel told reporters after the game. "Real close game, I kind of got out character, but I'll talk to Moody and we'll get past it."
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"I'll talk to Moody, and we'll get past it."
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) November 10, 2024
Deebo Samuel discusses his "frustrated" reaction to Jake Moody's missed kick pic.twitter.com/ylZ9SNmN4E
Shanahan said he had no problem with Samuel’s message to Moody.
“He was meeting him on the field, telling him to lock in,” Shanahan said. “It’s the same thing I’ll tell offensive players when they drop some balls or make some penalties or something.
“You never want to sit there and belittle anybody or try to embarrass anyone. You want to challenge guys you believe in, and it’s how we speak to each other and tell them they need to ‘focus’ and ‘lock in' because we know you can do this.’”
Shanahan said he believes in the heat of the moment that Pepper misinterpreted Samuel’s message to Moody and shot back at Samuel.
“I like Pep’s intention on it,” Shanahan said. “He’s got his kicker’s back. But I think he interpreted it wrong what Deebo was doing, and he overreacted a little bit. Deebo didn’t like that, and got him out of his space, and that’s where it ended.”
Shanahan said none of the involved individuals would be subject to any fines or discipline from the team.
“No,” Shanahan said. “I fine people for breaking rules. This is people just being football players and dealing with stuff on the sideline. I didn’t really chalk that up to a big deal at all.”
