The Washington Commanders are looking to build upon their NFC Championship appearance from a season ago and have made some contending moves this offseason to make it to the Super Bowl this go around.

One of the players whom the Commanders brought in this offseason is star wide receiver Deebo Samuel. He had a less-than-ideal season both characteristically and statistically with the San Francisco 49ers last year but is looking forward to his new home with the Commanders as he looks to help elevate an offense led by Kliff Kingsbury, Jayden Daniels, and Terry McLaurin.

There is now also a new face in Washington, but familiar to Samuel, as former All-Pro wide receiver and wide receivers coach Wes Welker has joined the staff. Welker served as the 49ers’ wide receivers coach from 2019-2021 during Samuels’ formative years in the league and had a direct impact on Samuels’ All-Pro 2021 season where he caught 77 passes for 1,405 yards and six touchdowns with a lead-leading 18.2 yards per reception.

Wes Welker is the wide receivers coach for the NFC Champion 49ers. ghows-LK-200127682-d0f6463a.jpg / RON CHENOY/USA TODAY via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Shortly after the official announcement of Welker’s addition to the team, Samuel took to social media and posted a photo of him and Welker during their time together in San Fran with no caption, showing his excitement for the hire made by the Commanders without saying a single word.

Samuel hasn’t quite lived up to his days during the middle portion of his career with the 49ers but the Commanders are hopeful that that will change, and bringing in a familiar face such as Welker should only help alleviate some of the concerns for Samuels along with obvious comfortability that comes with it.

Since retiring from the game of football back in the mid 2010s, Welker quickly knew he wanted to enter the coaching realm. He started his young coaching career with the Houston Texans serving as an offensive and special teams assistant from 2017-2018 before receiving his first shot as an actual coach with the 49ers working with wide receivers from 2019-2021 before following Mike McDaniel to Miami to hold the same position for the Dolphins.

Things unfortunately didn’t quite work out in Miami as the Dolphins fired Welker just after two seasons, and he now finds himself in a reunion with not only Samuels but general manager Adam Peters as well.

READ MORE: Commanders lose starting RB to Browns in trade proposal

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2025 offseason.

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