Deebo Samuel

49ers' Deebo Samuel to miss at least two games with shoulder fracture

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SANTA CLARA — Wide receiver Deebo Samuel will miss at least two games due to a hairline fracture of his left shoulder, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Saturday.

The 49ers will not have the services of Samuel and left tackle Trent Williams on Monday night against the Minnesota Vikings.

The situation is a lot more encouraging for running back Christian McCaffrey, who went through a limited practice Friday before the team went to the airport for their trip to Minneapolis.

The 49ers listed Samuel as out after a CT scan revealed the small fracture. Williams is listed as doubtful. He is not expected to be available to face the Vikings.

McCaffrey and linebacker Dre Greenlaw are listed as questionable.

Greenlaw has a chance to return to the starting lineup after sitting out last week’s game with a knee injury. The 49ers did not list him on the team’s injury report.

Samuel sustained a shoulder injury on the first play of the game last Sunday. He played only nine snaps in the 49ers’ 19-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Williams sustained an ankle injury. He missed two snaps and played the remainder of the game.

Shanahan said Samuel will miss the next two games. Then, the 49ers will evaluate Samuel’s condition after they return from the bye week.

The 49ers will mostly turn to Jauan Jennings, Ray-Ray McCloud and rookie Ronnie Bell — to join starter Brandon Aiyuk — in order to compensate for the loss of Samuel. The club also is likely to elevate a receiver from the practice squad.

The 49ers will turn to third-year offensive lineman Jaylon Moore to take over at left tackle. Moore is slated to make his sixth career start.

Williams typically takes one day off from practice a week, so Moore gets regular practice time with the starters. Moore got all of the practice reps this week.

“The good thing for Jaylon is he has had a lot of work when Trent had his vet days during camp and doesn't play in the preseason,” 49ers offensive line coach Chris Foerster said this week. “So Jaylon does get to play, and you do get to see if he's progressed and we think Jaylon has progressed.

“It's been good to watch him do that and hope that. If he does get pressed into duty again on Monday night, then we'll be able to see some improvement.” 

McCaffrey did not practice Thursday or Friday, though he was seen going through conditioning and warmup drills on Friday.

On Saturday, he took part in drills and appear to be running pass routes without any limitations.

The 49ers spent most of the week preparing to go with Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason at running back in case it was determined to name McCaffrey as one of their inactive players.

McCaffrey originally was listed with injuries to his oblique and ribs. After an MRI revealed no damage to his ribs area, the injury designation was updated to identify just his oblique, the outer-most muscles of the abdominal area.

49ers injury report for Monday vs. Vikings:

OUT

WR Deebo Samuel (shoulder)

Doubtful

T Trent Williams (ankle)

Questionable

RB Christian McCaffrey (oblique)

LB Dre Greenlaw (hamstring)

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