Deebo Samuel is returning to the San Francisco 49ers barely 16 months after both sides decided that their occasionally spectacular, frequently complicated relationship had run its course.

The former All-Pro has agreed a one-year contract worth up to $7m, according to multiple reports confirmed by the San Francisco Chronicle, following a solitary season with the Washington Commanders. The 49ers had yet to announce the move officially on Friday morning, but Samuel confirmed the reunion with a characteristically concise Instagram post: “Baxxkkkkk.”

His return would have been difficult to imagine when San Francisco traded him to Washington for a fifth-round draft choice in March 2025. It has become much easier to understand since training camp began.

Ricky Pearsall, the only member of the 49ers’ projected 2025 receiving trio still on the active roster, has been sidelined by swelling in his right knee related to the posterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered early last season and subsequently aggravated after returning to the line-up. San Francisco allowed the injury to heal without surgery during the offseason, but Pearsall had only participated in the opening two practices of camp before the swelling returned. The club has acknowledged concern over his condition and is now considering every treatment option, understanding that an operation could cost the 2024 first-round pick the entire season.

Christian Kirk is also nursing a calf injury, while tight end George Kittle’s recovery from a torn Achilles is expected to extend into the regular season. The 49ers added Mike Evans after his departure from Tampa Bay, but a receiving corps that appeared to have been rebuilt around Evans, Pearsall and Kirk has quickly become vulnerable.

Without a team as training camps began, Samuel therefore returns as more than a familiar face or sentimental favourite. He knows head coach Kyle Shanahan’s system, offers cover at several positions and can be incorporated without the lengthy adjustment ordinarily required of a late-summer addition. The reunion also completes a remarkable reshaping of the receiver room Samuel left behind. Jauan Jennings signed with Minnesota during free agency, while Brandon Aiyuk remains on the reserve/left squad list amid the prolonged collapse of his relationship with the franchise. Pearsall is now facing another extended absence after injuries restricted him to nine regular-season appearances in 2025.

Samuel’s own departure followed a subdued final campaign in San Francisco. His averages of 3.4 receptions and 44.7 receiving yards per game in 2024 were career lows, while his 3.2 yards per rushing attempt suggested the explosive ‘wide back’ role that once transformed Shanahan’s offense was becoming increasingly difficult to reproduce. There had also been visible frustration. Samuel complained about his usage on social media and became involved in a sideline confrontation with long snapper Taybor Pepper before asking the club to facilitate a trade.

The warmth of the reunion contrasts with the businesslike terms in which Lynch explained Samuel’s original departure at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine.

“Everything’s good, but I think, at some point, time happens,” the general manager said. “He asked for that. We don’t always [grant trade requests] — there’s contracts and things — but it probably makes sense.”

At the time, the decision appeared to acknowledge that the 49ers could no longer justify Samuel’s contract against diminishing production. He had signed a three-year, $73.5m extension in 2022, following another trade request during negotiations, but never replicated the season that earned him that deal.

Samuel’s 2021 campaign remains one of the most distinctive by any receiver in recent NFL history. He caught 77 passes for 1,405 yards and six touchdowns, then added 365 yards and eight scores on the ground after Shanahan began deploying him regularly from the backfield. His versatility helped turn a 3-5 team into an NFC Championship Game participant and earned him first-team All-Pro recognition.

He was productive rather than transformative in Washington. Samuel caught 72 passes for 727 yards and five touchdowns despite Jayden Daniels missing time through injury, and added 75 yards and another score on 17 rushing attempts. He also averaged 30.1 yards as a kick returner. Those numbers do not suggest San Francisco is reacquiring the player who powered its late-season surge five years ago, however, but neither does a contract worth up to $7m require him to become that player again. Instead, the agreement gives the 49ers a proven option at a moment when their carefully reconstructed offense is already being tested by injuries. Samuel will arrive with an established understanding of Shanahan’s terminology and an extensive history with quarterback Brock Purdy, allowing the club to dispense with much of the usual learning period.

The 49ers have already shown a willingness to revisit relationships they once considered finished, bringing linebacker Dre Greenlaw back on a one-year contract in March following his season with Denver.