During the weekend of the Super Bowl, there were clips of former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel hanging out with Trent Williams.
Earlier in the week, when he was being interviewed, Christian
McCaffrey said, “Deebo’s one of my favorite guys I’ve ever played with. We all love Deebo. Our whole staff loves Deebo. All of the players on the team love Deebo. We love Deebo. I thinky yeah, there’s no question that he would be welcomed back.”
The hat trick was George Kittle, who also spoke about reuniting with Samuel: “My one message for Niners fans: Hey, if a rebuild year got us 13 wins and a win in the wild card, that’s pretty good. It’s only gonna get a little bit better from that, and all the boys are coming back again. And who knows? We might add some past friends.”
When Kittle was asked to be more specific about the past friends part of that statement, he said, “I don’t know. I hung out with Deebo last night. That was fun. I love Deebo. That’s all. I love Deebo.”
It should be no surprise that a player who put his body on the line for the 49ers in the way Deebo Samuel did during his tenure with the team is beloved. McCaffrey saw what Deebo could do in 2023, but Kittle saw Deebo mature as a player and what he did in an unbelievable 2021 season.
The only part I’d disagree with is Kittle calling 2025 a rebuild season. Sure, there was turnover, but the 49ers were projected to win double-digit wins. No matter who they lost, they were always going to be in the playoff hunt.
Anyway, let’s decide whether a Deebo Samuel reunion makes sense for the 49ers. We know how he would fit into a Kyle Shanahan offense.
In 2025, Deebo caught a league-high 43 screens and was just one of three wide receivers with at least 10 percent of their routes coming on screens. It’s also worth noting that Samuel had a career-low 1.3 yards per route run from the slot, which was where he lined up 58.3 percent of the time, a career-high.
Samuel could potentially replace Skyy Moore as the kickoff returner. Deebo averaged 30.1 yards last season. But you can see how the wear and tear over the years has worn on him as a wideout. His 6.4 average depth of air yards per target was the lowest since 2022. Yet, Deebo still had six drops. He also only averaged 6.6 yards after the catch per reception. Samuel had never been under 8.5 since 2019.
The 49ers need a wide receiver who can separate, win at the catch point, and create after the catch. Samuel’s 2025 numbers suggest that’s not him as a player.
Different valuations believe Samuel will earn around $13 million a season. That would be surprising to see the 49ers offer that contract, even if it is for a beloved teammate like Samuel.
Ultimately, while a move might make sense for the locker room, on the field, outside of kickoff return, this would not be a move that makes the team more competitive in 2026.
