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Kyle Juszczyk Explains Why He Returned to 49ers After Team Released Him

Kristen Wong

Oct 27, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk (44) raises his helmet as he leaves the field after the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Levi's Stadium.
Oct 27, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk (44) raises his helmet as he leaves the field after the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Levi's Stadium. / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
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San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk has had a more chaotic offseason than most.

Juszczyk was cut by the 49ers on March 10 but re-signed just four days later, agreeing to a two-year, $8 million deal. It was one of the more bizarre moves of free agency and didn't make much financial sense for San Francisco, who had signed Juszczyk's assumed replacement, blocking tight end Luke Farrell, a day before his release.

Initial signs would suggest Juszczyk's re-signing was a morale-boosting one, as several 49ers stars including George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey had heartbreaking reactions to seeing the longest-tenured member of the 49ers leave the organization.

Juszczyk, who will turn 34 in April, candidly discussed the details of his back-and-forth moves with the 49ers and said it came down to the team's financial constraints:

"I have had discussions with them throughout the offseason that maybe it was a possibility that I was going to have to take a pay cut and we're going to have to rework some things in my contract," Juszczyk said on SiriusXM NFL Radio. "But it was never anything definite... And just as things went on, just the optimist in me started telling myself that, 'Man, I don't think we're gonna have to do this. It's getting close to the actual free agency period. I haven't heard too much. Things are kind of looking good.'

"But then they finally were like, 'Yeah, this is a real thing, the financial restrictions we're under are a real thing.'"

Juszczyk then said he was given the option to be released and gauge his value on the market or to continue negotiating a pay cut.

The nine-time Pro Bowler chose to "explore his possibilities," visited the Pittsburgh Steelers—among other interested teams—and ultimately decided to return to the 49ers on a new deal.

"I think, just to put it in the simplest terms, at the end of the day, it was too much to leave home," continued Juszczyk. "I wanted to be a Niner, and we were able to get to a number that I was comfortable with. And then, we were able to make the deal, and I couldn't be happier. And I'm trying not to look back at all. I'm just happy to be there and know I'm locked in for two more years."

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

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