With Ricky Pearsall’s 2026 uncertain, the 49ers needed to prepare for the worst, and Deebo Samuel being signed Thursday was that preparation.
According to Adam Schefter, it wasn’t so much of a knee-jerk reaction to Pearsall’s PCL injury as it may appear. Appearing on the Pat McAfee show, Schefter broke down what led to Samuel’s signing and how it wasn’t just a few days of talk.
“The truth of the matter is Deebo had been talking to the 49ers all along, and the 49ers had told him that they were interested
in bringing him back to San Francisco for weeks. There were actual conversations that occurred between Kyle Shanahan and Deebo Samuel. I think Deebo obviously was looking to see what kind of deal he could land on the open market, and when those deals that he was looking for don’t materialize, and those conversations with San Francisco continue on, and all of a sudden there are questions about Ricky Pearsall—who by the way right now is continuing to meet with doctors—he’s got another meeting planned for Monday right now with another doctor, but he’s going through his meetings with doctors and there are absolute questions about if and when he’ll be able to play this season that have to be answered still by the doctors. The Niners have been talking to Deebo. No other offers had materialized—meaningful offers. And so in the end, we’ve seen what San Francisco can do with Deebo, how the 49ers utilize him. He’s dangerous in their offense and I would imagine will be a factor again this year.”
This adds up to all the social media fun the 49ers were having with Samuel. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk and tight end George Kittle entered a bidding war, offering their summer homes as a place for Samuel to stay.
It sounds like Deebo and the 49ers reuniting was more expedited with the Pearsall injury rather than being an immediate fix. Given that he was looking for what he could make on the open market, had Pearsall not gone down, the 49ers may have rolled the dice and waited until mid-season for a player to go down before bringing Samuel in (similar to how Kendrick Bourne came to the team last year). Obviously that has its own challenges, namely keeping Samuel from signing elsewhere, but before Pearsall’s knee flared up, it was harder to justify a roster spot with what the 49ers had.
This will give their first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, second-rounder De’Zhaun Stribling, even more veteran tutelage along with Mike Evans.
