The San Francisco 49ers have provided a concerning injury update on superstar wide receiver Deebo Samuel ahead of Sunday’s NFC Championship clash with the Detroit Lions.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, head coach Kyle Shanahan announced that Samuel wasn’t practicing on Wednesday. The 28-year-old’s status for the NFC Championship Game is still unclear, Shanahan added.
Samuel is dealing with a shoulder injury that he suffered in the 49ers’ NFC Divisional Round victory over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday. He suffered the injury in the opening quarter and did not return, and the 49ers offense struggled for much of the day before Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey saved the day with a clutch game-winning fourth quarter drive.
The 49ers are playing in their third straight NFC Championship and their fourth in five years. After visiting the Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2021 and 2022 NFC title games, the 49ers will get home advantage against Dan Campbell and the resilient Lions.
In 15 regular season games, Samuel caught 60 passes for 892 yards and seven touchdowns to go along with 225 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Samuel has put up over 1,000 yards of offense and double-digit touchdowns in two of the last three years.
Samuel was a big-time performer for the 49ers in their three playoff games last year, tallying 211 receiving yards and one touchdown.
