Back like he never left.
On Monday, after placing running back Ameer Abdullah on IR, and already missing running backs Jordan James and Isaac Guerendo due to injuries, the San Francisco 49ers said hello to a familiar face and signed Jeff Wilson Jr.
“You know, it’s kind of like riding a bike,” Wilson told reporters after his first practice back on Monday. “I haven’t been here for a pretty, pretty, pretty good while…Everything is always evolving and changing, so it’s not the exact same, but it’s some familiarity and I’m used to it.”
The 49ers signed Wilson as an undrafted free agent in 2018. While with San Francisco the first time, Wilson played in 45 games (15 starts), gaining 1,733 yards on 390 carries with 15 touchdowns.
After the 49ers acquired running back Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers in October 2022, Wilson, seeing the writing on the wall in terms of playing time and contribution, asked to be traded. San Francisco complied and Wilson was traded to the Miami Dolphins.
“This is a business,” Wilson said. “I kind of knew kind of what was brewing before they made the transaction, and Christian actually came here…I didn’t want to leave, and they didn’t really want me to leave, but…as far as the business side of it, and me having kids to take care of, a family to take care of, just like everybody else, it was just the business aspect.
If I could go back and stay here, I’d most definitely try to find a way. But everything happens for a reason. I’m a firm believer in that, and you never know.”
James has a broken finger and Guerendo is dealing with a shoulder injury, so depth is of the essence in the running back room.
“He looked good today,” said 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. ” [He} has a different haircut, so I didn’t recognize him right away, but he got a few carries today and looked like Jeff…Awesome player, awesome person and we’re pumped to have him back in here.”
A free agent this offseason, NFL training camps began and Wilson had yet to find a home, which he admitted was not easy.
“Before I came here…it was a rough spot for me,” Wilson said. “I have no need to sugarcoat it, nothing to lie about, nothing to hide, I was in a rough spot. But as soon as the news started circulating about me coming here, I had so many fans DMing me and texting me, ‘Man, we miss you. We love you.’ It was just like, man, it’s people that still care and love. And that was the main reason what made it kind of sweeter to come back.”
Returning to Santa Clara may be like riding a bike, but there has been one pretty major change. When Wilson was last in the 49ers locker room, Brock Purdy was a rookie quarterback who was best known as Mr. Irrelevant and had yet to start an NFL game.