The 49ers' New-Look Offense Comes With One Massive Risk

The San Francisco 49ers signing Deebo Samuel is a great story for fans to get excited before the start of the season. A fan favorite has returned, and the old jerseys can get pulled back out. However, there is a lot of concern with the team adding Samuel. The team was already leaning on an older and injury-prone roster. They just added one more veteran with injury concerns into the mix.

San Francisco 49ers are playing with fire with Deebo Samuel signing

Assuming Samuel jumps into the starting lineup, the team is expected to have their top five skill players be at the age of 30 or older. That would include Mike Evans, Samuel, George Kittle, Kyle Juszczyk, and Christian McCaffrey. This would be a rare combination, as there have only been five teams to start five skill players that old.

As Josh Dubow of the AP researched, the last time it happened was the 2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and it only lasted one game. In 2003, the Denver Broncos also had just one game of that core. In 1992, Washington had two games with skill players that old.

#49ers could start 5 skill position players (Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, Geroge Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk) age 30 or older. Only teams in Super Bowl era to start 5 non-QB skill position players age 30 or older in same game:

2004 Bucs 1 game (Tim Brown, Charlie…
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) July 31, 2026

Fortunately, Denver and Washington made the playoffs in those seasons. Still, it is hard to compare any team to the 49ers, considering they are expecting to start this group throughout the season. These other teams just stumbled upon it for a week or two.

The majority of this group features injury questions as well. Samuel has not missed many games, but has a long list of offseason surgeries and missed practices. His efficiency has dropped in each of the past three seasons.

Evans missed three games in 2024 and then missed nine games in 2025. At the age of 33, he is getting to the point where the injuries coming every year are expected. Especially for someone who played ten years with very few issues.

McCaffrey was healthy last year, but is coming off of a career high in touches as he turns 30 years old. He also played just four games in the season prior. Juszczyk has been relatively healthy, but is entering his age 35 and has been a bit less involved.

Lastly, Kittle is coming back from a season-ending Achilles injury. So, the majority of the room not only has age to worry about, but their history points to the age they are at being a time when injuries will continue to occur.

This could derail things quickly.

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