Deebo Samuel Sr.'s long wait to find a new home is over. And even though his reported desire to return to the Washington Commanders went nowhere, the wide receiver managed to reunite with the team that traded him away last year.
But will the Commanders end up regretting their stance?
According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network and ESPN, the San Francisco 49ers have signed Samuel to a one-year deal that could be worth up to $7 million with incentives. This is far less than the lucrative long-term commitment he was looking for entering free agency, but it gets him back in familiar surroundings within a system he knows well under head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Deebo Samuel gets his desired reunion, but not with the Commanders
The Commanders didn't bring Samuel back. NFL insider Jordan Schultz revealed that the South Carolina product was very keen to extend his stay in Washington after a solid year, but general manager Adam Peters never took the plunge.
Now, that ship has sailed for good. And given the problems in Washington's wideout unit, that may be a mistake unless someone else steps up.
Earlier reports suggested that the Niners had closed the book on Samuel, too. Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports even stated that Shanahan had spoken to the wideout about not bringing him back. But the injury concerns around promising young pass-catcher Ricky Pearsall led to a pivot.
Samuel's former teammates in San Francisco all rallied around him on social media shortly before he was signed. There was a desire to get him back into the building, and the Niners have now worked something out. It's somewhat surprising, especially given they traded him for nothing more than a fifth-round pick to the Commanders last offseason, eating more than $34 million in dead money along the way. But desperate times call for desperate measures.
Commanders have their own receiver problems to solve after Deebo Samuel snub
As for the Commanders? They have their own issues to solve at receiver. And the urgency among fans is growing.
The reports are not exactly glowing around those looking to cement their status behind Terry McLaurin on the depth chart over the early stages of training camp. The calls to sign veteran free-agent Stefon Diggs are growing louder, and he is keen on a homecoming, but Peters has sat on his hands so far.
Despite Samuel's desire, the Commanders' plans never included him.
He was looking forward to experiencing free agency for the first time in his career, but the All-Pro acknowledged that it didn't go as he hoped. But now that the Niners have taken him on, everything worked out alright in the end for Samuel.
While Samuel's best days are long gone, he was productive in difficult circumstances for the Commanders last season. Dreams of going deep into the playoffs fell by the wayside early on, but he was a good teammate, kept himself in shape, and managed to put up some decent numbers despite not having quarterback Jayden Daniels under center much.
That wasn't enough to see a queue of suitors lining up to secure his services. But it will only make him more motivated to maximize his second chance in San Francisco.
And it'll be interesting to see if the Commanders end up regretting their decision not to bring him back.
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