On Tuesday, Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz reported the San Francisco 49ers were signing veteran wide receiver Dante Pettis to the practice squad, the same receiver the Niners originally drafted in Round 2 of the 2018 NFL Draft.
And the same pass catcher who was inactive for the Super Bowl in February of 2020 and unceremoniously dropped from the roster the following season.
Pettis might've been the first San Francisco wideout who fell into head coach Kyle Shanahan's notorious "doghouse." Despite a promising rookie year in which the former Washington receiver 467 yards and five touchdowns (still career-bests to this day), Shanahan seemed to lose all kinds of patience with Pettis the year after.
Shanahan even went as far as saying Pettis needed "to earn a role on this team" despite being a high draft pick.
Apparently, that never panned out, and Pettis turned into quite the journeyman from 2020 through 2025, spending time with the New York Giants, Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints.
When news broke Pettis would be returning, it certainly made fans think of his original exit.
Dante Pettis coming back to 49ers sure seems awkward
True, the 49ers are dealing with all kinds of wide receiver injuries right now. Ricky Pearsall (knee) is out for the year, while Demarcus Robinson and De'Zhaun Stribling will miss significant time with ankle injuries. In Week 3, Mike Evans suffered a rib injury that'll need to be monitored.
Despite inking veteran wideout Brandin Cooks, the Niners needed depth and worked out several available free agents, including Pettis.
Obviously, Pettis must've impressed the most out of the group, yet one can't help but think how the relationship between him and Shanahan needed some mending after such a noteworthy exit at the end of the receiver's first Niners tenure.
Perhaps Shanahan had the chance to speak with Pettis, appreciating the latter's ability to hang around in the league for years despite not sticking around with any particular team for any significant length of time. In comparison to how awkward things got between Shanahan and the disgruntled Brandon Aiyuk, the relationship with Pettis is no comparison.
Indeed, Shanahan clarified on Wednesday "there was no relationship issue," including a downplay of the doghouse association.
Still, it's impossible to ignore the awkwardness associated with the re-sign.
If anything, it's just the practice squad. Pettis' prior knowledge of Shanahan's offense is, at the very least, a bonus in this case. And any awkward situation can be dusted over with a mere conversation between the two individuals, too.
But it doesn't erase how weird Pettis' original exit from San Francisco was, though.
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