49ers' DeBo Samuel to miss 'a few weeks' with calf injury, coach says

By Matt Barrows, David Lombardi and Tobias Bass

The San Francisco 49ers offense takes another hit. Wide receiver DeBo Samuel is expected to miss “a couple of weeks” after sustaining a calf strain in Sunday's 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday.

Samuel, 28, has never played a full regular season since being drafted. The 49ers went 0-3 — including a game against the Cleveland Browns that Samuel left early — when Samuel was let go last season.

DeBo Samuel exited Sunday's game with a calf strain and will miss “a couple” of weeks, Kyle Shanahan said. Shanahan said Samuel hit the calf late — TV cameras caught him laughing as he came off the field.

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) September 16, 2024

In two games this year, Samuel caught 13 passes for 164 yards and 10 carries for 13 yards and a rushing touchdown.

Going into Week 3 vs. NFC West rival Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco will be without star RB Christian McCaffrey, who was placed on injured reserve with calf tightness and Achilles tendinitis, and now Samuels for the foreseeable future.

With both Samuels and Christian McCaffrey now out, the 49ers need an immediate return to form from their X wide receivers, who have been relatively nonexistent in the passing game over the first two weeks. Ayuck, in fact, has dropped from his No. 3 2023 ranking in routes per yard (3.2) to No. 100 (1.1) to start this season.

Ayuck missed all of training camp practices during contract negotiations, but his contract — worth $30 million annually — is now finalized. The 49ers, who have the worst average separation mark in the NFL through two games, desperately need Aiyuk to start the game leading up to that deal. – David Lombardi, 49ers beat writer

An aggravated offense

Samuel's injury is especially damaging because the 49ers will already be without McCaffrey for the next three games. Jordan Mason was great as a runner, but the 49ers clearly missed McCaffrey's ability as a receiver out of the backfield the first two weeks.

Brock Purdy has targeted Mason just twice so far, and he was noticeably lacking in quick, easy throws or blitz-situation outlets in Sunday's loss to the Vikings. Instead, the 49ers turned to Samuels as their dynamic backfield threat, especially in Week 1 when he lined up 10 times in the backfield and had eight carries and a rushing touchdown. – Matt Barrows, 49ers beat writer

Who filled in for Samuel?

Who could fill that role with both Samuels and McCaffrey missing in the upcoming games? No. 2 running back Isaac Guerredo has a background as a receiver and the speed to pressure defenses. But the rookie has only had one carry so far — for no gain — and it's clear the 49ers don't fully trust him in a bigger role. A third tailback, Patrick Taylor Jr., had 11 catches for the Green Bay Packers last year. He didn't get an offensive snap with San Francisco this year.

Another in-house option could be rookie receiver Jacob Cowing, who has excelled with the ball in the preseason and is Samuel's understudy. The 49ers, however, appear to be enticing to play him early as well, and he, too, has yet to get offensive snaps.

The 49ers have an open spot on their 53-man roster. Shanahan said he's still not sure how the team will fill it. – Barrows