San Francisco 49ers WR Deebo Samuel is being considered day-to-day heading into Week 7 vs. the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football. Samuel was forced to exit the Niners’ loss to the Cleveland Browns this past Sunday due to a shoulder injury and was unable to return. We’ll be updating you on the latest Samuel injury news and what it means for fantasy football.
Deebo Samuel injury updates: Fantasy football impact
Update, Oct. 21 — Deebo Samuel has been ruled out for the next two games, per head coach Kyle Shanahan. The Niners are shutting him down through the team’s Week 9 bye week and they’ll aim for him to return in Week 10 against the Jaguars.
Update, Oct. 20 — Deebo Samuel was not practicing Friday, per Matt Barrows. He still has time to practice on Saturday and be okay to play on Monday night, but he could end up a game-time decision this week.
Update, Oct. 19 — Samuel isn’t going to practice on Thursday, per head coach Kyle Shanahan. Samuel is still being considered day-to-day along with CMC. Friday’s practice status will be a better indicator of whether or not Samuel, McCaffrey and OL Trent Williams will be able to play on MNF vs. the Vikings.
The Niners are dealing with a handful of big injuries with RB Christian McCaffrey (oblique/ribs) going for MRIs and OT Trent Williams (ankle) also day-to-day. Samuel only had one target and no catches before exiting in Week 6 vs. the Browns. Cleveland’s defense did a good job limiting QB Brock Purdy and containing CMC. San Fran’s offense will look very different if CMC and Samuel aren’t able to play this week.
If that’s the case, expect RB Jordan Mason to lead the backfield with Elijah Mitchell. Mason has been the better back all season, though Mitchell has more experience. At receiver, WR Brandon Aiyuk had already overtaken Samuel as the top option. Aiyuk has 25 catches on 37 targets for 454 yards and two TDs this season. TE George Kittle has been mostly underwhelming this season outside of a few big games. Both Kittle and Aiyuk should see the majority of the targets if Samuel is sidelined at all.