A photo of Kyle Juszczyk. Photo: 

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Kyle Juszczyk is opening up about the emotional rollercoaster of getting cut from the San Francisco 49ers, and then re-signing with the team a few days later.

While speaking with PEOPLE exclusively, the running back, 33, shared how both he and his wife, Kristin Juszczyk, 31, were initially devastated when they learned in early March that he would be released from the team. Kyle began playing for the 49ers in 2017 after four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and went on to be named a first-team All-Pro in 2023, the same year he and the team went to the Super Bowl.

“It was interesting,” Kyle tells PEOPLE over Zoom. “I mean, that whole situation was not fun. Honestly, I never wanted to leave the Niners, and so there were a few days there when the reality set in that I was a free agent, that I wasn’t a Niner anymore.”

When the news broke, the couple was also in the midst of renovating their house in the Bay Area, which they had purchased eight years ago when Kyle first joined the team. At the time, Kyle says they bought the house hoping to “plant their roots” in the area. So, the idea that they might have to leave the home and community they’d built over the years in the Bay Area made the situation even more stressful.

“I think especially when things were happening with Kyle’s career, it really made us reflect on how fortunate we’ve been to live in the Bay for eight years,” Kristin tells PEOPLE.

“Never in a million years did we imagine that this is really where I would feel most at home and at peace,” she adds. “I mean, I’m from the East Coast, Kyle’s from Ohio, which is the Midwest. So we really never thought that the Bay would be where we’d feel at home, but we just love it.”

Then, on March 15 — just five days after the initial news broke that Kyle was being released — ESPN insider Adam Schefter confirmed on X that he had received news from a source that the running back would be “returning to play with the 49ers on a two-year, $8 million deal.”

“I’m so happy that we were able to work it out and come back,” Kyle says. “That door was always open, so at least we always had that to fall back on — that they were open to bringing me back.”

“We definitely would have been extra disappointed if we’d done all this to the house and then weren’t living here next season,” the football player adds. “That would have been really tough. But thankfully, everything worked out, and I have two years guaranteed on my deal. So, at the bare minimum, we’re going to enjoy this for two more years.”

Looking ahead to the upcoming season, Kyle says there will be a lot of new faces on the team, but at the same time, the core group of players will remain strong.

“Actually, it’s interesting. I saw the other day that me, [George] Kittle, [Nick] Bosa and Fred [Warner] are the four longest-tenured Niners, which is just crazy to think that the four of us have been together for that long,” Kyle says. “We still have that very strong nucleus, and now we’re just adding in new, young, talented players. As long as we do well in the draft and bring those players along, I think we can still have a lot of success this year. There’s still so much talent on this roster.”

Both Kyle and Kristin are confident that this year will bring a lot of success, and maybe even another Super Bowl appearance.

“It’s in the Bay,” Kristin says of next year’s Super Bowl, which will be held at the 49ers’ stadium. “So, I mean, what a dream scenario it would be to win a Super Bowl in our home stadium. That’s the goal, and it gives even more motivation — though they’re already so motivated, it’s just a little extra on top of it.”