San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel suffered a left shoulder injury and was ruled out of Saturday’s 24-21 divisional round win against the Green Bay Packers.
After the game, head coach Kyle Shanahan had no immediate update on Samuel.
“I don’t know yet,” he said of the severity, adding that the injury was similar to the one Samuel suffered earlier in the season against the Cleveland Browns. “we will see tomorrow.”
Samuel suffered an injury on the 49ers’ second drive, after which he went to the locker room for evaluation and was declared questionable. He appeared in street clothes in the second half, making it clear that he would not be returning. A few minutes later, the team called him out after going three times on the offense’s first drive.
The Niners WR was previously evaluated for a head injury after being hit on a catch during the team’s first drive.
He recovered from that injury, only to suffer another.
Samuel finished the game with two catches for 24 yards, and San Francisco won 7–3.
He recorded 60 catches for 892 yards and seven touchdowns in 15 games played during the regular season. The Niners went 0-2 in the two contests Samuel missed, part of a three-game losing streak that began with the wideout injuring his shoulder in a Week 6 loss to the Browns.
But instead of following that trend, San Francisco relied on its other explosive playmakers.
Christian McCaffrey rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner, while George Kittle led the team with 81 yards and also added a score on four catches.
Both helped lead the Niners to a comeback victory to reach the NFC Championship Game for the third consecutive season.
It remains to be seen whether Samuel will be available for this or not.
