The San Francisco 49ers have decided to bring back wide receiver Deebo Samuel of Inman, South Carolina. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network on Thursday, he has signed a one-year deal worth $7 million.
Samuel is returning to San Francisco after one season with the Washington Commanders in 2025. A year ago in the American capital city, he had 72 catches for 727 receiving yards and five touchdowns catches. Samuel also had 17 rushes for 75 rushing yards and another major score. Samuel’s touchdown run was for 19 rushing yards and closed out the scoring in his debut with the Commanders–a 21-6 Washington win over the New York Giants on September 7.
What makes Samuel so special is that he has become an elite wide receiver who can run effectively with frequency. He has 219 rushes for 1218 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns in his career. Those are insane rushing statistics for a National Football League wide receiver.
Samuel spent six seasons with the 49ers from 2019 to 2024. In 2021, he was selected to the Pro Bowl after leading the NFL with 18.2 receiving yards per catch. In 81 games with San Francisco, Samuel had 334 catches for 4792 receiving yards, and 22 touchdown catches, along with 202 rushes for 1143 rushing yards and 20 touchdown runs.
In San Francisco, expect Samuel to be a WR4. He is slated to be behind Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall and Christian Kirk on the San Francisco depth chart. Evans and Kirk were also free agent acquisitions. Evans was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kirk was with the Houston Texans.
