San Francisco 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel will be sidelined for a stretch after injuring his hamstring in Week 5, head coach Kyle Shanahan said, as relayed in a USA TODAY report carried by Yahoo Sports. The report did not offer a specific return date or a firm number of games.
Another receiver down
Samuel is the latest 49ers pass catcher to be lost to injury, the report noted. That puts further strain on a position group that has already been thinned out, and it leaves the team leaning on the players still available.
Shanahan's comments, as described in the report, went only as far as saying Samuel would miss some time. The source does not detail the severity of the hamstring injury or lay out a recovery timeline, so the length of the absence remains an open question.
Fantasy fallout
The report framed the news largely through a fantasy football lens. Its advice for fantasy managers who roster Samuel was to keep him on the bench rather than drop him, since he is expected back at some point.
In his absence, Brandin Cooks and Jacob Cowing will probably pick up a few extra targets, according to the report. It suggested both could be worth considering as No. 5 receivers in some leagues, a modest endorsement rather than a call to rush to the waiver wire. The report also singled out Mike Evans as the only 49ers receiver who should be in fantasy lineups right now.
What to watch
The key variable is how long Samuel stays out, and the source gives no further detail beyond Shanahan's comment that he will miss time. Any update from the coach on the hamstring, and on how the 49ers spread targets among Evans, Cooks and Cowing, will show how the offense adjusts.
Reporting sources: sports.yahoo.com, “Deebo Samuel expected to miss several weeks”.