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49ers’ Deebo Samuel gives murky Week 8 injury update

Originally posted on NFL on ClutchPoints
By Troy Finnegan | Last updated Oct 26, 2024 12:39 AM ET

The San Francisco 49ers shockingly find themselves below .500 through seven games, as they trail the Seattle Seahawks by one game in the NFC West race at 3-4. Their offensive skill positions have been decimated by injury so far this season, which has made things very tough on Kyle Shanahan, Brock Purdy and the rest of the offense.

Christian McCaffrey has missed the entire season and George Kittle and Jauan Jennings have both missed time for various injuries this season. Star wide receiver Deebo Samuel was out for most of last week’s loss against the Kansas City Chiefs with an illness that was later revealed to be pneumonia, and Samuel was hospitalized afterwards as a result.

Despite the scary nature of Samuel’s illness, he is still attempting to play on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. He’s still not sure if he’s going to be able to go, but he has practiced two days this week, according to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.

“Samuel said the last two days of practice have ‘been solid’ and that he feels pretty good, but said ‘we’ll see’ when asked if he thought he’ll be able to play this week,” Alper wrote. “Samuel also recounted when he realized how sick he was during last Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs.”

Samuel also reflected on his illness, which made it nearly impossible for him to give it a go against the Chiefs.

“It was scary because it’s kind of hard to breathe, for real, and you can’t take deep breaths,” Samuel said, via NBCBayArea.com per Alper. “So, in the midst of that, I’m just like, ‘What’s going on?’ And then we found out what was wrong after the game.”

49ers need Deebo Samuel healthy after other injuries

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. (1) and San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk (44) celebrate after Deebo Samuel Sr. (1) scored a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half at Lumen Field. Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Deebo Samuel is always a major asset to the 49ers’ offense, but they really need him considering the current state of their wide receiver room right now. Brandon Aiyuk went down on Sunday with a season ending knee injury, so the 49ers will be missing a true separator on the outside who can get open against tight coverage.

Jauan Jennings also missed Sunday’s game, but he should be back in the fold soon. That should at least give Brock Purdy someone he trusts on the outside. However, outside of that, Ricky Pearsall is still going to need time to get acclimated to the offense after returning on Sunday.

With all of the moving parts in the 49ers’ offense, Shanahan and company need the explosive element that Samuel brings to the team. His ability to carry the ball out of the backfield as well as catch it and make a play after the catch will be huge for them without Aiyuk, and especially until McCaffrey returns. If he’s unable to go against the Cowboys, San Francisco will be very limited in the different ways it can attack.

This article first appeared on NFL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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