Deebo Samuel is dealing with both an illness and a wrist injury, leading him to be questionable for the 49ers' Week 8 matchup against the Cowboys.
Seen as a strength entering the season, the San Francisco 49ers' wide receiver room is now a glaring weakness, and the Week 7 debacle against the Kansas City Chiefs is a perfect highlight of this problem.
With tertiary wide receiver Jauan Jennings out with a hip injury, followed by fellow wideout Brandon Aiyuk's brutal season-ending knee injury, about the only worse bit of news could have been if receiver Deebo Samuel had some sort of issue.
Well, he did.
Playing just three snaps before being removed from the game because he couldn't breathe, Samuel was ultimately admitted to the hospital the following day because of pneumonia. He had already been dealing with a wrist injury entering the game, and this was just more dreadful news.
Thankfully, Samuel returned to practice during the week ahead of the Niners' Week 8 Sunday Night Football showdown against the 3-3 Dallas Cowboys.
"We’ve gone slow with him," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters of Samuel on Friday. "we didn’t push him that hard knowing what the issue is and stuff. But it has gone better each day and that’s why I’m hoping that continues for Sunday."
However, Samuel ended up being listed as questionable on San Francisco's final injury report ahead of the game, casting doubts on whether or not he'd be available for the primetime affair.
Even Samuel wasn't entirely sure, telling reporters "we'll see" after the week's practices wrapped up.
Is Deebo Samuel playing Sunday Night Football vs. Cowboys?
Samuel and the 49ers have a small benefit with Week 8's game being played both at home and at night, meaning the 2021 All-Pro won't have to deal with travel and can wait nearly all day to determine how he's feeling.
That said, late Saturday night before Sunday's affair, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the expectation around Samuel was that he'd play:
49ers WR Deebo Samuel, listed as questionable for Sunday night due a wrist injury and the illness that left him hospitalized last week, is expected to play vs. the Cowboys, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 27, 2024
That's a pretty good sign, especially considering the sub-.500 Niners are in need of a win to climb out of the NFC West's basement and want to head into their Week 9 bye with at least a little momentum.
Ultimately, with Sunday Night Football's inactive lists being announced 90 minutes before kickoff (6:50 p.m. ET), fans won't officially know Samuel's status for much of the day.
However, signs point to him being able to partake.
San Francisco kicks off versus Dallas on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 8:20 p.m. ET from Levi's Stadium.