Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans Excited Over 49ers Adding Deebo Samuel
A familiar face is back with the San Francisco 49ers.
Veteran wide receiver Deebo Samuel signed a one-year contract worth up to $7 million with the 49ers on Thursday.
Samuel was a second-round pick by the 49ers in 2019 and played the first seven seasons of his career with the franchise. Samuel was traded to the Washington Commanders during the 2025 offseason for a fifth-round selection, but is back in San Francisco just one year later.
The addition of Samuel was needed due to injuries at the position. Per The Athletic’s Matt Barrows, 49ers receiver Ricky Pearsall currently has knee swelling and receiver Christian Kirk injured his calf in the 49ers’ first practice.
49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, receiver Mike Evans and linebacker Dre Greenlaw all gave enthusiastic comments about the 49ers signing Samuel.
“I’m so fired up,” McCaffrey said, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. “Deebo, he has such a presence on the field. When he’s in the game, you have to account for him in so many different ways. I look at a guy like Dre Greenlaw on defense. When you get him back, it’s just something about that gives you a little bit of confidence, and it’s the same with Deebo. He gives us all so much confidence. When he’s in the game, he’s got your back, and he’s such a fun dude to play with and a game-breaker.”
Samuel, 30, recorded 72 receptions for 727 yards with five touchdowns along with 75 rushing yards and one score. If 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan utilizes Samuel in the same manner he has in the past, it’ll mean he’ll be used in the passing game and running game alike. Samuel had 4,792 receiving yards and 27 receiving touchdowns for the 49ers in his first seven years with the franchise along with 1,218 rushing yards and 21 rushing scores.
Samuel’s skill set is a good contrast to what Mike Evans brings. Evans can beat the opposition vertically while Samuel will be an asset on mesh routes and underneath patterns.
“I love the way he plays the game,” Evans said. “I think he’s going to bring what he brought before to the team. That energy, that versatility. Hell of a pickup for us.”
If the 49ers are to make a deep playoff run, his 12 games of playoff experience and presence as a locker room leader could prove to be major benefits for a team looking to get back to the Super Bowl after losing 25-22 to the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime of Super Bowl LVIII during the 2023 season.
“He’s an incredible player,” Dre Greenlaw said. “The physicality, just the leadership, the swag, the charisma, everything. He’s one of them guys that’s reliable. Played a lot of ball, he’s going to be there week in and week out. To have somebody like that coming back, amped up, just motivated, it's going to add a big boost and a lot of juice to our team.”