The San Francisco 49ers' reunion with Deebo Samuel pushed the team into historically unusual territory when it comes to roster age at the skill positions.
According to the Associated Press' Josh Dubow, the 49ers could now start five non-quarterback skill position players age 30 or older in the same game: Mike Evans, Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk.
That would put San Francisco in exceedingly rare company. Per Dubow, only three teams in the Super Bowl era have started five skill position players 30 or older in a single game: the Buccaneers did it once in 2004 with Tim Brown, Charlie Garner, Mike Alstott, Joey Galloway and Ken Dilger, the Broncos did it once in 20023 with Mike Anderson, Ed McCaffrey, Rod Smith, Shannon
Sharpe, Dwayne Carswell and Washington did it twice in 1992 with Gary Clark, Art Monk, Earnest Byner, Don Warren and Terry Orr.
The track record for those teams was mixed. The 2004 Buccaneers finished 5-11 and missed the playoffs, a steep decline from their Super Bowl XXXVII run two years earlier. The 2003 Broncos went 10-6 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2000, but were routed 41-10 by the Colts in the Wild Card round. Washington's 1992 club was the most successful of the three, going 9-7 and beating Minnesota in the Wild Card round before falling to the 49ers in the Divisional round.
San Francisco was already trending toward one of the NFL's oldest rosters heading into 2026 before the Samuel move, and adding a 30-year-old wideout to a group that includes 32-year-old Evans only reinforces that profile.
The signing itself came together quickly. Samuel agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $7 million on July 30, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, returning to the franchise that drafted him in the second round in 2019 after a single season with the Commanders. San Francisco moved a day after Ricky Pearsall sustained a setback with his knee injury and could be out for an extended stretch, with free-agent addition Christian Kirk also banged up.
Samuel spent six seasons in San Francisco before requesting a trade in 2025, when the 49ers sent him to Washington for a fifth-round pick. He produced 72 catches for 727 yards and five touchdowns with the Commanders last season. For his career, Samuel has totaled 406 receptions for 5,519 yards and 27 touchdowns, plus 1,218 rushing yards and 21 scores on the ground, headlined by his All-Pro 2021 campaign.
Now back in Kyle Shanahan's offense, Samuel projects to work alongside Evans and the 49ers' younger receivers, including De'Zhaun Stribling, Jordan Watkins and Jacob Cowing, as San Francisco leans further into experience at the skill positions in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers join rare company after Deebo Samuel signing
