49ers’ Deebo Samuel has no fracture, but status for NFC Championship up in the air
SANTA CLARA — The 49ers received good news regarding the injured left shoulder of wide receiver Deebo Samuel, but coach Kyle Shanahan still isn’t sure if he’ll be good to go for the NFC Championship Game Sunday against the Detroit Lions.
“It wasn’t broken, so that was a real good sign,” Shanahan told local reporters in a conference call Monday. “It’s still hurting too much for us to know how it’s going to heal up this week so we’ve just got to be patient, see how he feels on Wednesday and based on how it’s improving it will give us an idea whether he has a chance for the game or not.”
Samuel played nine snaps against Green Bay before departing. The injury occurred on the same play in which he was initially evaluated and cleared for a concussion.
“His head was fine,” Shanahan said. “It was the shoulder and only the shoulder but I think it looked live like it was possible he could have taken a hit on the head.”
It’s the same shoulder he injured on his first reception in Week 6 against Cleveland. He missed the rest of that game and all of the next two games — losses to Minnesota and Cincinnati — before returning after the bye week.
The 49ers had game-planned for Green Bay with Samuel a big part of the offense and his departure confused matters when some of the same plays were dialed up for other players. Jauan Jennings, who had five catches for 61 yards, even carried on a reverse that was supposed to go to Samuel and lost a yard.
“You’ve just got to switch some guys around, which is always a challenge for those guys,” Shanahan said following the game. “It happened during the Cleveland game. We didn’t handle that well. I thought we handled it better today than we did then. But it is a huge challenge. Deebo’s obviously one of our better players, but he also is a unique guy that goes to some certain spots, so you’ve got to be adjusting to that all game.”
Samuel, despite missing two full regular-season games and most of a third, was the 49ers fourth-leading receiver in receptions with 60 and third in yardage with 892 yards and seven touchdowns. He was also their third-leading rusher behind Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell with 225 yards and his 12 total touchdowns trail only McCaffrey’s 21.
Against Detroit, Shanahan can develop strategies in case Samuel can’t go or departs early, enabling him to move McCaffrey to different areas and make more use of running back Mitchell, who had just one snap against Green Bay and did not carry the ball.
“If we know he’s not available, which I think hopefully we would know by Wednesday, Thursday (or) Friday, then it makes it easier,” Shanahan said. “From a game-plan standpoint, you don’t have to do much but if there’s any chance, which I think we’ll have a better idea by Wednesday, obviously there will be things in there for him.”
OPTIONS IF DEEBO CAN’T PLAY
Jennings played 40 snaps on Saturday after missing three games with concussion symptoms, his second-highest total other than playing 50 snaps against Cincinnati in a game that Samuel did not play due to injury.
Jennings had a leaping 21-yard catch for a first down on third-and-10 from Brock Purdy and opened the 49ers’ game-winning drive with a 7-yard reception.
“It’s huge, especially losing Deebo there too,” Shanahan said. “He always contributes and I think people see it more when he catches the ball, but Jauan has an impact whenever he’s out there on the field whether it’s the run game or the pass game. He stepped it up big for us.”
Brock Purdy’s best throw of the night from the win over GB:
Stood tall and delivered a dart to Jauan Jennings, who makes an incredible catch for the first down pic.twitter.com/InhJtEmNmJ
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) January 22, 2024
On the touchdown drive, Chris Conley, who played 25 snaps, made a 17-yard catch of a sideline pass from Purdy.
“That’s why guys like (Conley) and Willie Snead are here,” Shanahan said. “They’ve both done it in different games throughout the year whether it’s special teams or offense and that was a big-time play Chris made in that game.”
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF LIONS
Shanahan and his staff have begun to dig into preparation for the Detroit Lions, 31-23 winners over Tampa Bay in the other divisional game.
“Just a really good team. You can see why they’re here,” Shanahan said. “Their defense runs around, hits, plays with a lot of energy. They’ve got a number of players over there, and their offense is as good as it gets . . . pretty obvious to see why they’ve been so good this year.”
The No. 3-seeded Lions are 14-5 (including playoffs) and haven’t faced the 49ers since they hosted them for the 2021 regular-season opener. The 49ers won 41-33 in a game they led 41-17.
PURDY’S MISFIRES
In completing 23 of 39 passes for 252 yards, Purdy at 60 percent was nearly 10 percentage points below his usual accuracy rate. Some of it had to do with the weather, some of it defense, a few others just seemed to just get away from him.
“By no means was he perfect, but it was really cool when we needed him to be at his best, and he was and gave us the best chance to win at the end,” Shanahan said.
ARMSTEAD’S RETURN
The 49ers got 46 snaps from defensive tackle Arik Armstead, who returned after missing five games with a foot injury. He was credited with a tackle and two assisted tackles.
“Arik did a hell of a job. He was able to stay out there a little more than expected,” Shanahan said. “The injury that he’s had, I think it handled the game better than expected. I think it was hard for him to be out there that long just getting into football shape. Hopefully he’ll take a step forward with that this week. But I think in terms of how he played and the old injury I think it was a huge success.”
GREENLAW’S LESSON
The risky tackle-breaking foray of Dre Greenlaw after his second interception to wrap up the Packers game isn’t something we’ll see again. At least that’s what Shanahan believes.
“I think he’s glad it ended the way he did and I don’t think he’ll ever make that mistake again,” Shanahan said. “We’re very appreciative he made the play, but stuff can flip very fast and you can ruin some of the best plays ever if you give a team any more of a chance. The way that game was going, man, we didn’t need to give them any more chances. I think he learned his lesson.”
DEMO STEPS UP
Shanahan was effusive in praise of nickel cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, who finished with five tackles.
“I think Demo plays at a level that’s higher than most guys just from a mentality standpoint,” Shanahan said. “He doesn’t hesitate. He doesn’t blink. He’s physical, is on guys. He’s mentally aggressive and physically aggressive, which allows you to make plays and get away with things sometimes when you’re a little off.”