49ers notebook: Deebo Samuel’s latest injury ‘didn’t look good’; others get nicked
The injury news did not get better for the 49ers after their loss to Washington on Sunday.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan did not sound optimistic regarding the latest hamstring injury to receiver Deebo Samuel, who left the game after the first snap, when he carried the ball nine yards and came up lame before stepping out of bounds along the left sideline.
“I know we’ll MRI him and look at it tomorrow, but it didn’t look good,” Shanahan said.
It marks the third injury for Samuel since June that could cost him games. He suffered a Jones fracture to his foot and a setback in his recovery prevented him from playing the first three weeks. Then he strained his hamstring during the Oct. 25 victory over the New England Patriots and missed the next three games.
And even before Sunday, Samuel missed practice after the win over the Rams with hamstring soreness and Wednesday’s practice this week because of a foot contusion during last Monday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills.
The offense without Samuel struggled mightily, save for a strong showing from rookie Brandon Aiyuk, who had 10 catches for 119 yards.
If the first play was any indication, Samuel was slated to get a lot of touches Sunday after not getting a reception until late in the third quarter of the loss to Buffalo.
“We felt pretty big about Deebo from that first play on. Lost a pretty big element, but it’s not why we lost today,” said Shanahan.
Turnovers, of course, were San Francisco’s biggest issue, as three led to 17 Washington points in the 23-15 loss. Two were defensive touchdowns.
The offensive woes negated a strong performance from the defense that lost its best player early in the third quarter.
Fred Warner after making a tackle on a Payton Barber run up the middle hit the ground and grabbed his left shoulder and collar bone. The 49ers initially said Warner was getting tested for a head injury but later ruled him out with a stinger.
It’s the second known stinger Warner’s had this season. He hasn’t missed a game since becoming the full-time starter Week 1 of his rookie season in 2018.
Warner will undergo more testing Monday.
Other 49ers nicked but stay in the game
Left tackle Trent Williams, running back Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. left the game momentarily but returned.
Williams subbed out at the 9:31 mark in the first quarter after twisting his leg trying to block on a bubble screen to Aiyuk. He missed one play and returned after getting looked at for a knee injury.
The play he missed turned out to be an important one. Chase Young, who had a whale of a game with a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a touchdown, sacked Nick Mullens by starting the play in coverage and lulling Justin Skule, Williams’ replacement, to sleep.
Once Skule turned his head toward the inside to offer help, Young shot inside and hit Mullens for an eight-yard loss on a third-and-2, forcing one of the 49ers’ nine punts.
Mostert tweaked his ankle and was checked for a concussion after the first play of the second quarter but returned. He finished with 14 carries for 65 yards and looked more explosive than the Bills game. Mostert said during the week the high ankle sprain that cost him four games earlier in the year wouldn’t be at 100 percent until after the season was over.
Wilson went to the sideline momentarily after he got stepped on by Mullens in the second quarter during a false start by Williams, but went back in shortly after. Wilson had 31 yards on 11 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown in the first quarter. That gave him six touchdowns on the season, tying him with Aiyuk and Jerick McKinnon for the team lead.
McKinnon and Tevin Coleman went without a carry or a target in the passing game. Shanahan said using Mostert and Wilson as the top two running backs was part of the plan going in.
▪ Offensive line coach John Benton missed the game after testing positive for COVID-19 this week, the team said in a statement released just before the game.
He was not allowed on the sideline and has been quarantining at the team hotel in Glendale, Arizona. Assistant offensive line coaches Zach Yenser and Chris Foerster handled Benton’s duties during the game.
▪ The 49ers for the second straight game were without Emmanuel Moseley (hamstring injury) while K’Waun Williams continued to sit out with a high ankle sprain. That led to Ahkello Witherspoon being active for the second straight game after being a healthy scratch for three consecutive weeks.
Witherspoon was used in dime packages Sunday and made a third-down tackle in the first quarter that forced a punt.
▪ San Francisco’s other inactives: wide receiver Trent Taylor, running back Austin Walter, center Hroniss Grasu (knee) and defensive tackle D.J. Jones (ankle).
Defensive tackle Kevin Givens left the team for the birth of his daughter during the week and could not return in time to pass the necessary COVID-19 protocols to play. The team was given a roster exemption for Givens.
This story was originally published December 14, 2020 at 7:08 AM.
