The San Francisco 49ers are bringing Dante Pettis home.
After a Tuesday workout at the team facility, the 30-year-old wide receiver is expected to sign and join the practice squad, pending a physical, according to reporting that first circulated from insider Jordan Schultz and was later confirmed by multiple league sources.
The timing is not accidental. San Francisco’s receiver room has been thinned by injuries, including a rib issue for Mike Evans that left the club looking for a veteran who already understands Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
Pettis was the 44th overall pick in the 2018 draft, a Washington standout whose college reputation rested as much on his punt-return brilliance as his receiving production.
He set an FBS record with nine career punt-return touchdowns and arrived in Santa Clara with the look of a complementary piece next to a young core.
His rookie year still stands as his most productive NFL season: 27 catches, 467 yards, and five touchdowns in 12 games. He added a memorable game-winning score against Pittsburgh the following fall.
After that, playing time dried up. San Francisco tried to trade him, then waived him in 2020.
The New York Giants claimed him. He later bounced through Chicago and New Orleans, with a brief 2026 training-camp stop in Buffalo that did not last.
The numbers since leaving the Bay Area have been modest.
Across stints with the Giants, Bears, and Saints he has remained a depth option and occasional special-teams contributor rather than a featured target. In 2025 he appeared in eight games for New Orleans and finished with nine receptions for 127 yards.
Career totals sit at 92 catches, 1,231 yards, and 13 touchdowns in 66 games. Those figures will not change the 49ers’ passing hierarchy on their own. What they do offer is familiarity.
Pettis already knows the terminology, the spacing, and the tempo Shanahan demands. That matters when the active roster is short-handed and a practice-squad elevation may be needed on short notice.
San Francisco also worked out several other receivers the same day, including Brenden Rice and Malik Turner. Pettis was the one who walked away with a deal.
The 49ers have an open practice-squad spot and a Week 4 home date with the Denver Broncos approaching. Whether he is merely insurance or sees snaps depends on how quickly Evans and others recover.
For now, the story is simpler: a former second-round pick is back where his professional career began, eight years later, because the team that drafted him needs bodies who already speak the language.
