49ers Injury Report: Deebo Samuel's Progress Bodes Well for Sunday

While most of the top teams in the modern NFL have a star quarterback under center, the San Francisco 49ers took another approach to team building. Brock Purdy, with all due respect, isn't an all-world athlete. The former Mr. Irrelevant, who joined the Niners as the 262nd pick of the 2022 NFL draft, has (rightly or wrongly) been viewed in some circles as more of a game-manager than a game-breaker.

That doesn't mean that San Francisco is devoid of offensive talent. Christian McCaffrey still stands tall, even as the NFL moves away from reliance on running backs, and Deebo Samuel is a genuine threat wherever he lines up.

But, as the NFC Championship game inched closer, everyone in the Bay Area will be hoping that the wide receiver is on the field at all. He suffered a shoulder injury during the NFC Divisional Round, which kept him on the sidelines. And given that Samuel suffered a hairline shoulder fracture earlier this season, missing two games, there were fears that he had re-aggravated the issue.

"He tried to come back [but] couldn't do it," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said during his postgame press conference. "I know he did something similar versus Cleveland [in the regular season]. We'll see."

As the week evolved, though, the outlook got rosier. We learned that there was no fresh fracture, although the receiver was in pain. He didn't take the practice field on Wednesday, but was apparently "feeling better."

Then, on Thursday, he did join in the action as what the team labeled a limited participant.

The penultimate step in the process arrived on Friday, when Samuel was a full participant in practice and no longer carried an injury designation.

"It's huge," Shanahan explained. "A little scary at the beginning of the week, but the fact that he was able to go full-go today and no restrictions on him is definitely a good thing for us."

From afar, Samuel's return seems like a positive sign; he's going to be playing on Sunday, and obviously helps the Niners. But, at the same time, this is the playoffs. Maybe he's pushing through a risky situation and playing when he otherwise wouldn't?

And while we can only take Samuel—he described his issue as "a deep bruise or whatever"—and the 49ers at their word, some solace can be found in his progress. It's easy to be cynical and think that winning games is all that matters, but his progress this week suggests there isn't a larger issue.

And that sentiment meshes with insight from Dr. Leon E. Popovitz, co-founder of New York Bone & Joint Specialists, who highlighted both the fact that the receiver had previously been cleared to return from his October injury and that there wasn't a fresh fracture.

"Hairline fractures can be a lot of different descriptions," Popovitz told Newsweek during a phone interview. "It could be a real fracture, where the bone breaks through, or it's just kind of like a little tiny, little crack precursor to a full fracture. And football players, because of the concept of trauma, will get a lot of those kind of hairline fractures or microfractures. But if he has fully healed and he has returned to play and he suffered a re-injury, that's probably just because of the pain because it's such a sensitive area. That bone is kind of returning.

"So as long as there is no actual lingering fracture or recurrent fracture on recent diagnostic studies, then he should be able to return depending on the level of pain he's experiencing."

And while playing through the pain will never be completely risk-free, the fact that Samuel is being allowed out there ultimately bodes well.

"There's always a concern if there's any sign of even a remote fracture," Popovitz added. "There's always concern that that might crack all the way through. I would be shocked if they're letting him play with an actual fracture. He's probably feeling kind of the microcracks in the bone underneath without actually going through and through. So that's probably what he's experiencing, now.

"Of course, there's a risk that it might crack all the way through if he has a hairline fracture there, but I sincerely doubt they're letting him play with any lingering signs of fracture in his shoulder. ... Speaking in generalities, there is a risk of it fully cracking if he gets a direct blow to that spot, but all I can say is that if latest radiological studies show no sign of a recurrent fracture, then he's probably safe to return."

Pulling out to the bigger picture, things also seem positive for the longer-term outlook. If the Niners are able to make it past the Lions to reach the Super Bowl, the bye week should provide sufficient time for rest and recovery. That would probably remove any lingering pain and get the wideout back near his best.

"Especially the hairline fractures, and in young people so often those can kind of simmer down relatively quickly. So, within two or three weeks, much of his pain level should be diminished," Popovitz noted.

It goes without saying that we're talking about 1) the human body, and 2) playoff football: All of the best predictions can go out the window with a single tackle. But as the NFC Championship gets closer and closer, San Francisco 49ers fans can feel relatively comfortable about Samuel's status. There's always some chance involved, but there's nothing to suggest that he's taking an undue risk.