You have to ask yourself this simple question; Could the 49ers Super Bowl window be closing with this latest rash of injuries? The severely banged up San Francisco 49ers offense took another massive blow, as another critical piece to the puzzle will have to shut it down and miss some time.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan told the assembled media on Monday that star receiver Deebo Samuel will be out “a couple weeks” due to a calf strain.
Shanahan said Monday that Samuel strained a calf late in Sunday’s 23-17 loss on the road against the Minnesota Vikings and would “probably miss a couple of weeks.” According to Shanahan, Samuel sustained the injury with just over two minutes left in the contest.
“He told me he thinks he did it when he caught, I think it was the third to last play,” Shanahan said. “They had a blitz down in the red zone. He caught the hot route breaking in. He says he thinks he did it on that play.”
Samuel paced the 49ers like the superstar he is with eight catches and 110 receiving yards in Sunday’s 23-17 loss. According to ESPN’s San Francisco 49ers reporter Nick Wagoner, Samuel told Shanahan that he thinks he injured his calf while making a short catch late in the game.
Losing Samuel for even a short stint leaves the 49ers without another one of the biggest sources of production on offense. San Francisco has already been without star running back Christian McCaffrey for the first two games of the season while he recovers from Achilles tendonitis. Shanahan said after Sunday’s game that the return timeline for the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year is still up in the air.
Embed from Getty Images“Nobody knows,” Shanahan said when questioned about McCaffrey’s potential return. “We’re dealing with tendinitis so, not one person knows. He doesn’t know. We don’t know and [we will] take it day by day.”
The 49ers placed McCaffrey on injured reserve on Saturday, so the earliest he will be able to return is in Week 6 against Gino Smith and the Seattle Seahawks, who have a 2-0 record at this point.
“When you lose real good players, it’s always tough,” Shanahan said. “But it happens all over the league, and it’s a huge part of this league and a huge part of this game. We’ve got to deal with it.”
Without Samuel, San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy will have to spread the wealth around to multiple players for the team’s offense to click on all cylinders. Star tight end George Kittle will be counted on to take pressure off the outside receivers by producing over the middle.
The reigning NFC champions will do everything they can to tread water until Samuel and McCaffrey are able to return to the lineup and try to help them make a second straight trip to the Super Bowl.
