George Kittle credits Mac Jones for keeping 49ers afloat last season
George Kittle credited Mac Jones for helping the 49ers overcome multiple key injuries and remain successful throughout last season.
Amid injuries to a couple of their top wide receivers, the San Francisco 49ers have turned to an old friend.
Veteran wide receiver Deebo Samuel is returning to the team that drafted him on a one-year deal worth up to $7 million, a person familiar with the negotiations has confirmed to USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon. The person spoke on a condition of anonymity because the deal is not yet official.
NFL Media and ESPN insider Ian Rapoport was the first to report the deal.
He’ll join a wide receiver corps that includes veteran Mike Evans and rookie De’Zhaun Stribling. Christian Kirk and Ricky Pearsall were expected starters for San Francisco entering training camp, though Kirk is dealing with a calf injury and Pearsall has had a flare-up with the PCL injury in his knee that he suffered last year.
Samuel played the first six years of his career for the 49ers after the team drafted him in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He played the 2025 season with the Washington Commanders, where he led the team in receptions (72), receiving yards (727) and receiving touchdowns (5) amid injuries to quarterback Jayden Daniels and wideout Terry McLaurin.
- Term: One year
- Total value: Up to $7 million
- Average annual value (AAV): $7 million
- Guaranteed money: TBA
Samuel is back in San Francisco on a new, one-year deal. It is both the shortest-term and least valuable deal that the veteran wideout has signed in his career. Samuel’s rookie deal was worth $7.25 million, and the extension he signed in 2022 was for three years (and worth $71.6 million total).
As a 30-year-old, Samuel was the youngest of three notable Pro Bowl receivers still on the free agent market. He was also the first to get a deal. Stefon Diggs (32 years old) and Keenan Allen (34) remain unsigned as training camps around the league roll on.
News of Samuel’s deal to return to the 49ers comes on the heels of reports that the team had “concerns” about Pearsall’s knee injury. Pearsall, San Francisco’s first-round pick in 2024, had to sit out of training camp practice on Wednesday, July 29 with a swollen knee – a flare-up of the PCL injury that limited him to nine games in 2025.
The fact that the 49ers have turned to a free agent wide receiver this close to the start of the season could be a bad sign for Pearsall’s 2026 availability. NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco reported on Thursday, July 30 that Pearsall could require surgery on his knee. If he does, Maiocco said, the third-year wideout would have to miss the entire season.
“At this point, I think it’s reasonable, rational, logical for the 49ers to not expect Ricky Pearsall to make any contribution in 2026,” Maiocco said.
The good news for both the 49ers and Samuel is that the veteran is very familiar with head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense as a former player. It’s unclear for now whether Shanahan will continue to use Samuel’s versatility as a rusher as frequently as he did during the wideout’s first stint.
Between 2021 and 2024, Samuel averaged 3.1 rushing attempts per game across 59 outings (57 starts). In 2025, one year after 42 rushes for 136 yards in San Francisco, he only rushed 17 times for 75 yards with Washington.
What does seem clear is that Samuel has a chance to slide back into a starting role for the Niners in 2026, especially if Pearsall and Kirk continue to miss time.
This story has been updated.