Feb. 9, 2026, 6:28 p.m. PT

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle is already stirring the NFL free agency pot.

In an appearance with Sports Illustrated before the Super Bowl, Kittle hinted strongly that the 49ers may be able to find the wide receiver help they desperately need by reuniting with a former 49ers All-Pro.

“My one message for Niners fans, ‘hey if a rebuild year got us to thirteen wins and a win in the wild card − that’s pretty good,'” Kittle said (h/t @TheSFNiners). “It’s only gonna get a little bit better from that and all the boys are coming back again. And who knows we might add some past friends.”

When pressed on who Kittle was talking about, he was ready to name names.

“I don’t know,” Kittle said. “I hung out with Deebo (Samuel) last night. That was fun … I love Deebo.”

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Samuel left the 49ers in a trade with the Washington Commanders prior to the 2025 season. The 2019 second-round pick didn’t sign an extension in Washington and is set to hit the unrestricted free agent market this offseason.

Kittle and Samuel were teammates for Samuel’s first six seasons in the league. The star tight end had a front row seat to the impact Samuel can have as a do-everything offensive weapon. While Samuel’s impact has waned some into his late 20s, he still turned in 802 scrimmage yards on 89 touches with six touchdowns last season for a not-very-good Washington outfit.

It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Samuel made his way back to a 49ers roster that is in dire need of help in its receiving corps. Jauan Jennings is due for unrestricted free agency, Brandon Aiyuk is set to be released and Ricky Pearsall has been banged up in each of his first two seasons as a pro.

Samuel can’t be the team’s only answer and they certainly can’t lean on him in the ways they did when he was a First-Team All-Pro in 2021 with 1,770 scrimmage yards and 14 total touchdowns. However, adding a WR with a ton of experience in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense would ease some of the burden of finding players who can hit the ground running in time to make an impact in 2026.

A version of the 49ers receiving corps with Samuel as a third WR is intriguing enough that San Francisco should be ready to explore it.

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