Hey, now. Maybe the band's not fully breaking up after all.
Just a few days after his release caused consternation to the fanbase, fullback Kyle Juszczyk is returning to San Francisco.
Juszczyk had visited with the Pittsburgh Steelers, close to his offseason home, but it appears the pull of a return to the Bay Area, and head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense, proved too much to turn down. It would also seem that having accepted a pay cut last year to stay with the team, Juszczyk has, having evaluated his market, seen that the Niners are willing to pay him more than the rest of the teams in the league, possibly due to the scarce use of fullbacks.
This is welcome news in what has otherwise felt like an offseason of change for San Francisco.
Now, however, the nine-time Pro Bowler is back, and it solves a few problems for both the Niners and Juszczyk.
Good news for both Kyle Juszczyk and 49ers
For his part, Juszczyk gets to continue his career in the place where he's largely been the most appreciated. In a league that doesn't utilise the fullback much any more, he's been consistently featured and played well when doing so. There's a reason, despite the scarcity of players at his position, that he's consistently voted to Pro Bowls and spoken highly of by his teammates.
For the team, it keeps a talented contributor around. While new tiight end Luke Farrell could well take parts of Juszczyk's role, particularly if the team switches to 21 personnel (two tight ends and one runnig back), on a more regular basis, it would've been hard to replicate what the fullback brought to the offense.
While general manager John Lynch's usage of the term "offensive weapon" was much-maligned when Juszczyk was signed to a seemingly huge deal in 2017, it's actually proven to be a pertinent description, as he's impacted in all areas of the field.
As well as being a tenacious and talented blocker, Juszczyk has occasionally ran the ball to good effect and has frequently been a factor in the passing game as well, logging 184 receptions for 1,895 yards and thirteen touchdowns in his time with the team so far.
Off the field, bringing back Juszcyzk helps in the locker room, too. Many veterans, including Dre Greenlaw, Leonard Floyd and Deebo Samuel, have either left or been outright let go by the organization. When these were followed by the release of Juszczyk, tight end George Kittle lamented the loss of his close friend and it sparked several conversations about the mood inside the locker room.
That's probably why Saturday's news felt like such a weight lifted.
The return of a popular presence in the locker room and a plus-point on the field can only be a good thing as the 49ers go about reshaping their roster for 2025. It also creates the feeling that a full rebuild isn't quite happening, despite the narrative from most of the mainstream media.
Quarterback Brock Purdy is also likely to be pleased at the return of one of his chief weapons in what has otherwise looked to be an uncertain and potentially very different future to the one he started the 2024 season with.
It doesn't exactly hurt to have your quarterback onside in the midst of potentially fractious negotiations about his extension.
A bridge during the 49ers' transition
More than anything, though, it makes sense given everything around the Niners at the moment. Whether you agree with the rebuild or not -- and I happen to be full-throated behind replacing members of a highly-paid, underperforming, 6-11 team -- it still behooves San Francisco to have around certain standard bearers and those who set the tone.
Essentially, if this is Shanahan 2.0, then you still need players who understood what Shanahan 1.0 was all about to teach the next generation. The 49ers during the 1980s under owner Eddie DeBartolo and head coach Bill Walsh in particular mastered this. While veterans were never kept around for sentiment, if they still had something to offer the team and the younger players on the roster, they remained.
You can probably think of some examples, but defenders like Ronnie Lott, Eric Wright and Keena Turner featured in multiple 49ers teams throughout multiple generations of shifting and evolving rosters. They were the leaders, setting the tone and then allowing new leaders who effectively bought in (like Jerry Rice, for instance) to emerge organically.
Juszczyk appears to be that for this iteration of the 49ers. Not only can he still provide on the field, but he's in a position to lead a new batch of starting players, like Dominick Puni, Ricky Pearsall, and Ben Bartch, in understanding the intricacies of the offense and how to perform for Shanahan.
Whatever the reasons that the 49ers ultimately re-signed Juszczyk, it seems to be a happy moment for both sides. Whether the fullback fulfils the entirity of his new two-year deal remains to be seen, but the benefits to both sides of this deal are obvious, and it ended up being a no brainer for Lynch, Shanahan, and Juszczyk himself.
Welcome back, Juice!
