If signing Deebo Samuel is a 1-for-1 swap, the San Francisco 49ers are going from 25-year-old Ricky Pearsall to 30-year-old Deebo Samuel. Even if Samuel isn’t the starter and it’s Christian Kirk (turns 30 in November) or Demarcus Robinson (31), the Niners’ offense just got five or six years older.
According to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press, the 49ers could start five skill-position players age 30 or older: Mike Evans, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Kyle Juszczyk, and the “Z” receiver, between
Deebo, Kirk, and Robinson.
The only teams in the Super Bowl era to start five non-QB skill position players age 30 or older in the same game were the 2004 Tampa Bay Bucs for one game, the 2003 Denver Broncos for one game, and the 1992 Washington team for two games.
The 49ers aren’t entering the season hoping those players start a game or two. Those are the players they’re counting on for the remainder of the season. So, assuming one of the three 30+ year-old wideouts starts, the 49ers will become the fourth team in the Super Bowl era to start five non-QB skill positions.
The 49ers will undoubtedly be older without Pearsall. They may lose their ability to stretch the field in some ways without Pearsall. But Deebo can still run. Last september, on a kickoff against the Raiders, Deebo reached a max speed of 19.23 miles per hour. That would have been among the top times among all 49ers last season.
For a team that was coming into the year with inexperience at returner, Samuel could solve the kick returner question. Deebo averaged 30.1 yards per return on 15 tries. That was good for fourth in the NFL.
