Christian McCaffrey Wants the 49ers to Re-Sign Deebo Samuel

Say it ain't so.

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The 49ers desperately need to add a wide receiver this offseason, and they just might reunite with a familiar face.

No, not Brandon Aiyuk. He almost certainly has played his final game with the 49ers, perhaps his final game in the NFL. He isn't acting like a person who wants to play football anymore.

In addition, Jauan Jennings most likely will sign elsewhere once he hits free agency in March. He potentially could get $20 million per season on the open market, and the 49ers would be crazy to give him all that money.

Which brings us to Deebo Samuel. The 49ers traded him to the Washington Commanders last offseason because they thought they were going to have Aiyuk, who was getting paid $30 million per season. But he missed rehab assignments, so they voided his guarantees, and then he essentially quit the team.

Now, Samuel is set to be an unrestricted free agent, the 49ers have an opening at wide receiver, and more than enough cap space to bring him back.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

And for what it's worth, Christian McCaffrey is all for the 49ers re-signing him.

"Deebo is one of my favorite guys I've ever played with," McCaffery said this week on Radio Row. "I love Deebo. We all love Deebo. Our whole staff loves Deebo. All the players on the team love Deebo. There's no question that he would be welcomed back. He has such good energy. When the ball is in his hands, you can see a lot of times the fear in defenses.

"He's just such a great component, or he was such a great component to our offense, because you can get him the ball in so many different ways. He's an enforcer on offense. He'll run through your face. He can catch the ball. He can run the ball. He can run any route in the route tree. And if you want to tackle him, it comes with consequences. He's just a great guy to have on your team, and I appreciated the time I got to play with him."

Everything McCaffrey said about Samuel was accurate...three years ago. Now, Samuel is 30. He's not explosive anymore. You have to feed him the ball constantly to keep him happy. The Commanders gave him a whopping 99 targets last season and he gained only 727 receiving yards. He runs no routes well. He's a gadget player who's limited to screens and end arounds. And he's a bad running back.

In addition, the 49ers have the oldest offense in the league. They need to get younger and faster, not older and slower.

Re-signing Samuel would show that the team is focused on the past, not the future.

Don't do it, 49ers.