Deebo Samuel might not be available for the beginning of the season, but San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is hoping he will be.
Samuel suffered a broken foot during an unofficial practice with his teammates in May. He was initially expected to need 12-16 weeks to recover from the Jones fracture, which would put his availability for Week 1 in question.
“Deebo’s going to do anything he can to be in shape, but it’s hard to be in football shape until you can play football,” Shanahan said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “So how many practices can we get him in here before Arizona? That’s going to all go into play, so I’m hoping for Week 1. But not sure yet.”
San Francisco opens the season on Sept. 13 against Arizona.
In late July, 49ers GM John Lynch said Samuel might miss some games to start the season, so it seems that still could be the case.
Samuel, 24, was the No. 36 overall pick in last year’s draft. He finished his rookie season with 57 catches for 802 yards and six total touchdowns. He also rushed for 159 yards on 14 attempts.
