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CJ West gave DeForest Buckner old 49ers jersey number with no strings attached
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- CJ West gave DeForest Buckner old 49ers jersey number with no strings attached
CJ West gave DeForest Buckner old 49ers jersey number with no strings attached originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SANTA CLARA — Second-year defensive tackle CJ West welcomed veteran DeForest Buckner back to the 49ers with a selfless act.
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"I got to know him earlier (last) week, and we were talking a little bit," Buckner told NBC Sports Bay Area of his conversation with West. "And he said, 'Hey, bro, 99 is yours.' "
Buckner broke into the NFL as the seventh overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. He wore No. 99 for his four seasons with the 49ers before he was traded in March of 2020.
Buckner also wore No. 99 for the past 6 1/2 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts.
The 49ers re-acquired Buckner , a three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle, from the Indianapolis Colts last week for a fourth-round draft pick. He returns to his first NFL home.
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"I stated I wanted to come here," Buckner said on Monday. "I didn't want to go anywhere else. Obviously, the familiarity with being here. Being drafted here. All the guys who are still here from when I was here.
"I've been keeping up with their games over the years, watching the standard they play at, the winning football. This is where I wanted to be."
And now he gets his old number back.
West, 24, wore No. 99 ever since the 49ers selected him with a fourth-round pick in the 2025 draft. West's new nameplate above his locker showed him now wearing No. 90.
Buckner, 32, did not even have to bring up the subject of his jersey number. And West asked for nothing in return. Still, Buckner has some ideas on how he can thank West.
"Oh, I'm going to take care of him," Buckner promised. "But, yeah, he just offered it, which is pretty great."
