Deebo Samuel’s hamstring injury leaves the San Francisco 49ers leaning even harder on a receiving group that’s already been stretched thin.
Coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday that Samuel “got it pretty good” and will be out for at least a few weeks after going down in Sunday’s 32-29 win over the Seattle Seahawks. The receiver’s absence lands at a rough moment for a unit that has been battered almost from the start of the season.
Samuel returned to San Francisco early in training camp after spending last season in Washington and gave the offense an early lift. He has 16 receptions for 206 yards and three touchdowns, has added 78 rushing yards on nine carries and has handled kick return duties for the team.
But the depth chart behind him is already in rough shape. Projected starter Ricky Pearsall had season-ending knee surgery early in training camp, rookie De’Zhaun Stribling underwent ankle surgery after the opener and will be sidelined for at least another month, Demarcus Robinson is on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain, and Christian Kirk has been out since the opening week of training camp with a calf injury.
That leaves Mike Evans as the No. 1 option. Evans has 24 catches for 326 yards and three touchdowns. Brandin Cooks, signed last month, also chipped in with a touchdown catch against Seattle.
The rest of the active receiver group is thin. Jordan Watkins and Jacob Cowing are the only other wideouts on the roster, and they have only nine career NFL catches combined. San Francisco does have more bodies available on the practice squad, including Malik Turner and Xavier Smith, the two most experienced options there.
“Any time you lose this number of guys, whether it’s four guys or five guys, whatever it is, it’s a huge challenge,” Shanahan said. “But we do have guys in this building who can do it and we’ll always look (for more).”
The only other injury coming out of the game was backup linebacker Garret Wallow’s hamstring issue, which Shanahan said is less severe than Samuel’s but likely to keep him out for some time as well.
There is at least some good news elsewhere for San Francisco. Defensive end Nick Bosa (calf), fullback Kyle Juszczyk (knee) and defensive tackle James Thompson Jr. (ankle) all have a chance to return for Monday night’s game against Washington.
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