The 49ers still don't know if one key piece of their offense will be ready in time for Sunday's NFC Championship Game.
Deebo Samuel injured his shoulder in last week's divisional round win over the Packers, and San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked Wednesday about the receiver's status for Sunday's game, but didn't have a clear answer. Ta.
Coach Shanahan said Samuel is improving, but did not elaborate on whether the 2021 All-Pro will play against the Lions this weekend.
Although his X-ray results were negative, Samuel missed Wednesday's practice as the team prepares for its second consecutive NFC title game.
“My shoulder hurts,” Shanahan told reporters. “That's it, yes, it just hurts.”
Samuel's presence in the lineup was important not only for the offense, but for the team as a whole.
The win over the Packers marked the first time this season that the 49ers won a game while holding Samuel to fewer than 10 snaps. NFL.com reported.
The 49ers are 12-1 this season when Samuel plays at least 10 snaps, according to NFL.com.
Obviously, in Weeks 7 and 8 with Samuel out of the lineup, the 49ers only scored 17 points.
In those two games, Purdy totaled two touchdowns and four interceptions.
Although Samuel was absent for most of the district playoff game, San Francisco's signal caller was mostly held to 252 yards and one touchdown.
“Devo is a great football player,” 49ers tight end George Kittle said after Saturday's game. “He's great, especially for what we're asking him to do. When Devo was there and matched him with Christian. [McCaffrey] I think by swapping them out and doing things like that, our offense is going to be different than other offenses in the NFL. So am I worried he won't play next week? Yeah. We are a different team without Devo. ”
But on the other hand, the Lions' defense hasn't exactly been great in their two playoff wins, allowing 416.5 yards per game in a small sample.
49ers legend Jerry Rice When the radio is talking about the hits from “95.7 The Game on Wednesday.''he said he believed Samuel would eventually play against Detroit.
“I expect Deebo Samuel to be on that football field,” former 49ers wideout Jerry Rice said Wednesday on 95.7 The Game. “That's the bottom line. Devo is a competitor, so I think he's ready to play.”
