SANTA CLARA, Calif. – San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel missed the majority of Saturday night’s NFC Divisional Round playoff game against the Green Bay Packers due to a left shoulder injury, and the team isn’t sure he can return to its versatile player. How long will you last without it? star.
Samuel is scheduled to undergo further testing on his shoulder Sunday, and the Niners are hoping he doesn’t suffer the same injury — a hairline fracture in the shoulder — that he suffered in the Week 6 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
He told some members of the organization he was “fine,” sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
“I don’t know yet,” coach Kyle Shanahan said when asked about Samuel’s injury. “I mean he tried to come back (but) couldn’t do it. I know he did something similar against Cleveland.”
The Niners’ 24–21 victory against the Packers propelled them to the NFC Championship Game on January 28 at Levi’s Stadium. When asked by a source if he believed Samuel would get a chance to play, Schefter said, “Yeah, I think so.”
After making a catch over the middle of 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy with 5:35 left in the opening quarter, Samuel struggled for more yards as several Packers defenders closed in on him.
Samuel’s further progress was stopped, but he remained on the field after the game and was given medical attention. Initially, Samuel was evaluated for a concussion, but he was quickly cleared to return.
However, this did not last long, as Samuel went to the San Francisco locker room several times for further testing on his shoulder. He returned to the Niners’ locker room at the two-minute warning, and when he came out for the second half, he was wearing street clothes. Moments later, Samuel was officially ejected.
As Shanahan pointed out, Samuel has suffered his second shoulder injury this season. His shoulder injury against the Browns kept him out for two games and a bye. He returned in the Week 10 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In the regular season, 49ers players averaged 7.1 yards per play with Samuel on the field. When he was not on the field, that number dropped to 5.7 yards per play.
“Deebo is a great football player,” tight end George Kittle said. “He’s amazing, especially the things we ask him to do. When Deebo is in there and you mix him up with Christian (McCaffrey) and move them around and do things like that. , so it makes our offense I think different than any other offense in the NFL. So, am I worried about him not playing next week? Yeah. We’re a different team without Deebo.”
Before being sent off, Samuel had two catches for 24 yards. With Samuel out, Jaune Jennings stepped into his shoes with Ray-Ray McCloud III serving as the slot receiver in Jennings’ usual spot. It was Jennings who performed most in Samuel’s place, making five catches for 61 yards on six targets, including several key first-down grabs in traffic.
Jennings also got a carry that would normally have been for Samuel, although Shanahan indicated it was the result of a miscommunication.
“(Losing Deebo) changes a lot of things, especially when you have wristbands and things like that and you have to replace some guys, that’s always a challenge for those guys,” Shanahan said. “It happened during the Cleveland game, and we didn’t handle it that well. I thought we handled it better today than we did then, but it’s a big challenge. Deebo is obviously one of our better players. But he’s also a unique guy who goes into certain spots where you have to adjust throughout the game.”
