49ers reclaim DeForest Buckner two weeks before trade deadline

Cam Inman, The Mercury News on Oct 27, 2026

Published in Football

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — DeForest Buckner is circling back to the San Francisco 49ers.

Buckner, dealt in March 2020 to the Indianapolis Colts, will cost the 49ers a mere 2027 fourth-round draft pick, pending a physical, a league source confirmed Tuesday.

“Come home,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk commented on ESPN’s Instagram post of Buckner complaining about being “sick and tired of the same song and dance every year” after a Week 6 loss to the previously winless Tennessee Titans.

George Kittle celebrated news of Buckner’s return by posting a picture of them and Juszczyk at the 2018 season’s Pro Bowl. “DEFOOOOO THE BOYS ARE BACK,” Kittle wrote on the social-media platform X.

Another seismic trade shook the NFC West earlier Tuesday, when the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks acquired one of Buckner’s former Colts teammates, left guard Quenton Nelson, for a 2027 third-round pick and 2028 fifth-rounder.

Buckner, 32, is in the final year of a contract in which the 49ers now owe him $7.9 million in salary. He joins a veteran-laden roster that is 6-1 this season and pushing for the Super Bowl, which is where Buckner last suited up in his No. 99 uniform with the 2019 Niners.

Not only is he a popular ex-Niner, but he should also prove immensely helpful for a defensive front hit hard by injuries, including defensive end Nick Bosa’s calf strain that has forced him to miss the last five games.

Buckner is a three-time Pro Bowler who excels as an interior rusher from the 3-technique. But his versatility should also benefit a defensive front that’s produced multiple looks under first-year coordinator Raheem Morris.

Alfred Collins was lost to a knee injury days before the season opener, so the 49ers have mostly relied on defensive tackles Osa Odighizuwa and first-year players Gracen Halton, James Thompson and Sebastian Valdez. Odighizuwa was acquired in a March trade from Dallas, and he drew the ire of coach Kyle Shanahan for a fourth-down offside penalty in the 49ers’ first loss of the season Sunday in Atlanta.

The 49ers re-signed defensive tackle Kevin Givens to the practice squad and released wide receiver Malik Turner from it.

Buckner (6-foot-7, 295 pounds) has earned Pro Bowl acclaim three times – 2018, ’21, ’23 – and captured AP First-Team All-Pro honors in 2020. He was a 2016 first-round draft pick (No. 7 overall) by the 49ers, who earlier this year brought back two other heralded draft picks in wide receiver Deebo Samuel and linebacker Dre Greenlaw.

Buckner has 75 1/2 career sacks, including four this season to match his total through 10 games last season. He underwent neck surgery last New Year’s Eve, nearly two months after first experiencing a herniated disk.

Buckner was traded shortly after the 2019 team’s Super Bowl loss. He was dealt in March 2020 for a first-round pick and scored an $84 million contract extension, while the 49ers retained Arik Armstead ($85 million extension) and Jimmie Ward ($28.5 million).

Buckner became a father a month after leaving the 49ers and now has three children with his wife, Ashlyn, a Fresno, Calif., native who met him in college at Oregon.

Since 2017, the 49ers have made trade-deadline deals for defensive linemen Jordan Willis, Charles Omenihu, Randy Gregory, Chase Young, Khalil Davis and Keion White.

Another potential candidate this year is Buccaneers nose tackle Vita Vea, a Milpitas native whose contract runs through 2027.

The 49ers have draft capital to use in potential deals: They hold a pick in each round over the next two years, before potential compensation picks are awarded.

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