San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said he expects Deebo Samuel to return to practice this week but wouldn't commit to the receiver playing next weekend against the Philadelphia Eagles.
"I'm optimistic he'll be back next week," Shanahan told reporters on Friday. "He had a real good week. Last week, hitting the rehab hard with all those guys, and just being able to watch him work out here on the side, he looks real good running routes, and he's been able to do it without pain. So I expect to get him back next week.
"Whether that means the game on Sunday, I don't know. That's stuff that I don't even think about until I see how he looks on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday."
NFL insider Ian Rapoport reports that Samuel is more likely to return for the 49ers' October 11 game against the Miami Dolphins rather than next weekend. He states that the plan is to ease Samuel back from injured reserve.
#49ers WR Deebo Samuel (foot) should return to practice this week for SF, source says, but the current plan is to ease him in off Injured Reserve. Samuel likely returns to the field on game-day on Oct. 11 vs. the #Dolphins, rather than next Sunday vs. the #Eagles.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 27, 2020
Samuel is returning from a Jones fracture in his left foot, which he suffered in June. The receiver landed on injured reserve on September 12, forcing him to miss at least three games.
Samuel is in his second NFL season. He caught 57 passes for 802 yards with three touchdowns as a rookie in 2019 while adding 14 carries for 159 rushing yards and three more scores on the ground.
