Confirm deal: Deebo Samuel has sign a permanent deal with….
As the NFC championship game between the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers inches closer, the status of one of San Francisco’s key weapons remains in the air.
According to reports, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said star wide receiver Deebo Samuel did not practice Wednesday and his status is questionable for the NFC title game on Sunday due to a shoulder injury. On Monday, Shanahan told reporters that Samuel did not have a fractured shoulder but was still in plenty of pain, leaving his status for Sunday as “fuzzy.”
Samuel left the 49ers’ divisional round win over the Green Bay Packers in the first half after suffering a shoulder injury. The former All-Pro receiver initially left the game to be checked for a concussion in the first quarter, before checking back in and promptly leaving again to go to the locker room with trainers with a shoulder injury and did not return. Samuel left the 49ers’ divisional round win over the Green Bay Packers in the first half after suffering a shoulder injury. The former All-Pro receiver initially left the game to be checked for a concussion in the first quarter, before checking back in and promptly leaving again to go to the locker room with trainers with a shoulder injury and did not return.
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The 49ers’ offense struggled most of the night against Green Bay after one of their top playmakers left the field, but managed a 69-yard, decisive touchdown drive in the final minutes. San Francisco gained 356 total yards — 287 outside of the final drive — and had two touchdowns from running back Christian McCaffrey and one from tight end George Kittle.
Later in the day after Shanahan said his status was uncertain and he wouldn’t be a participant in practice, Samuel went through some workouts on the side of the 49ers’ practice field. Off to the side, Samuel ran the length of the field and did some work while carrying a football, according to NFL Network’s Omar Ruiz.
If Samuel is unable to play, it could throw a huge wrench in San Francisco’s high-powered offense that sat at the top of the NFL in nearly every statistical category and has struggled without him this year. Samuel missed two games and the majority of another earlier this season after he suffered a hairline fracture in the same shoulder during Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns.
After leaving with the injury early in the first quarter, the 49ers offense came to a grinding halt against the Browns. Samuel left after the second drive of the game, and the 49ers only managed to score 10 points after that in a 19-17 loss. The offense only managed 215 total yards, with 107 passing yards.
Samuel missed the next two games against the Vikings and Bengals, both losses for San Francisco. In both games, the offense managed to score 17 points — a far cry from their 28.9 average points during the regular season — while turning the ball over three times each. Against the Vikings, San Francisco gained 325 total yards, with 260 coming through the air, with two touchdowns from McCaffrey. Against the Bengals, the offense gained 460 total yards and McCaffrey scored two more times, but three turnovers were too much to overcome against a full-strength Bengals team with Joe Burrow still in the lineup.
Samuel has the fourth-most receptions on San Francisco with 60 receptions for 892 yards and seven touchdowns. Known as a dynamic weapon from anywhere, he also has 37 carries for 225 yards and five touchdowns as a running back this season. The three players in front of him in receptions (McCaffrey, Kittle and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk) were all either first-team or second-team All-Pro players this season (left tackle Trent Williams and fullback Kyle Juszczyk were also first-team All-Pros on offense).
