The 49ers may find themselves in a pinch at wide receiver for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals.
WR Deebo Samuel is listed as questionable with a knee injury, while WR Jauan Jennings is officially doubtful because of a shin issue.
If Samuel and Jennings are both absent from the NFC West showdown at Levi’s Stadium it would leave the 49ers with only three healthy receivers – Brandon Aiyuk, Ray-Ray McCloud and Ronnie Bell. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said the team would turn to a pair of veteran WRs from the practice squad if they’re missing both Samuel and Jennings.
“It’ll be Chris [Conley] or Willie [Snead IV],” Shanahan on Friday said in a press conference. “Both of those guys are the same guys in subtly different ways to us, but we’ve got a lot of confidence in both of them. We’ll figure that out based on which guys are down.”
Saturday’s roster moves that show which players were elevated from the practice squad will give a lot of insight into which way the receivers are trending.
The club can only elevate two players and they have two linebackers (Dre Greenlaw and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles) who are questionable and may also require a replacement.
Conley was up for the 49ers in Week 3 and saw action on nine offensive snaps. He and Snead both had productive preseasons for the 49ers and a situation like this one where the 49ers need reliable veteran options is why they were brought back to the practice squad.
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