The 49ers won’t have wide receiver Deebo Samuel for their season opener against the Arizona Cardinals. He was officially listed as “out” on the team’s Friday injury report. Samuel didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday, and was out again Friday which put the writing on the wall that he wouldn’t be available Sunday. The injury report made that official.
Any optimism the team had about the second-year receiver’s availability for Week 1 was always guarded. Playing in Week 1 would’ve put him on the front end of the reported 12-16 week timeline on the Jones fracture he sustained in June. San Francisco’s training staff typically handles injuries pretty conservatively. They weren’t going to risk losing Samuel for an extended period by forcing him into the lineup to start the season.
Samuel was taken off the Non-Football Injury list before the season though, so the team has to be optimistic that he can return within the first couple weeks.
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is officially listed as “questionable” with a hamstring injury after a pair of limited practices to wrap up the week. Center Ben Garland is in the same spot while he works through an ankle injury. We likely won’t know their statuses until Sunday just before kickoff.
Here’s the full injury report:
Out
WR Deebo Samuel (foot)
CB Jason Verrett (hamstring)
Questionable
C Ben Garland (ankle)
WR Brandon Aiyuk (hamstring)