By Matt Barrows, David Lombardi and Tobias Bass
The San Francisco 49ers offense takes another hit. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel is expected to miss “a couple weeks” after sustaining a calf strain late in Sunday’s 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday.
Samuel, 28, has never played a full regular season since being drafted. The 49ers went 0-3 — including the game against the Cleveland Browns which Samuel left very early — when Samuel was sidelined last season.
Deebo Samuel came out of Sunday’s game with a calf strain and will miss “a couple” of weeks, Kyle Shanahan said. Shanahan said Samuel hurt the calf late — TV cameras caught him grimacing as he came off the field.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) September 16, 2024
In two games this year, Samuel caught 13 passes for 164 yards along with 10 carries for 13 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Going into Week 3 versus NFC West rival Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco will be without star RB Christian McCaffrey, who was placed on injured reserve with calf tightness and Achilles tendinitis, and now Samuel for the foreseeable future.
Time’s up for Brandon Aiyuk
With both Samuel and Christian McCaffrey now out, the 49ers need an immediate return to form from their X wide receiver, who’s been relatively nonexistent in the passing game over the first two weeks. Aiyuk, in fact,t dropped from his No. 3 2023 ranking in yards per route run (3.2) to No. 100 (1.1) to start this season.
Aiyuk missed all training camp practices as he held in during contract negotiations, but his deal — worth $30 million annually — is now finalized. The 49ers, who have the worst average separation marks in the NFL through two games, badly need Aiyuk to begin playing up to that deal. — David Lombardi, 49ers beat writer
A depleted offense
Samuel’s injury is especially damaging considering the 49ers already will be without McCaffrey for the next three games. Jordan Mason has been excellent as a runner, but the 49ers clearly have missed McCaffrey’s ability as a receiver out of the backfield over the first two weeks.
Brock Purdy has targeted Mason just twice so far and he had a noticeable lack of quick, easy throws or blitz-situation outlets in Sunday’s loss to the Vikings. Instead, the 49ers have turned to Samuel as their dynamic backfield threat, especially in Week 1 when he lined up 10 times in the backfield and had eight carries and a rushing touchdown. — Matt Barrows, 49ers beat writer
Who fills in for Samuel?
Who can fill that role with both Samuel and McCaffrey missing in upcoming games? No. 2 running back Isaac Guerendo has a background as a receiver and has the speed to put pressure on defenses. But the rookie has had just one carry so far — for no gain — and it’s obvious the 49ers don’t fully trust him in a bigger role. The third tailback, Patrick Taylor Jr., had 11 catches for the Green Bay Packers last year. He has yet to get an offensive snap with San Francisco this year.
Another in-house option might be rookie receiver Jacob Cowing, who was excellent with the ball in his hand in the preseason and who is Samuel’s understudy. The 49ers, however, also seem leery of playing him early on and he, too, has yet to get an offensive snap.
The 49ers do have an open spot on their 53-man roster. Shanahan said he isn’t sure yet how the team will fill it. — Barrows
(Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
