San Francisco 49ers star wide receiver Deebo Samuel was not on the field for the early portion of the team's final practice of the week. He also missed the Wednesday and Thursday sessions, putting his availability for Sunday's NFC West battle with the Los Angeles Rams in doubt.
#49ers WR Deebo Samuel (hamstring) not on the field for the third straight days during early open portion of practice. Not a good sign for his availability on Sunday against the Rams but Kyle Shanahan will have his official status in about an hour.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) October 28, 2022
Samuel emerged from this past Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs with a hamstring injury.
The 49ers will release official game statuses and practice participation reports this afternoon. Samuel's absence doesn't necessarily mean the wide receiver will not play on Sunday.
"He doesn't like missing games. He doesn't want to miss this game," general manager John Lynch said Friday morning on KNBR. "And as I've told you, with other top-line players, there's certain guys where if they're not practicing on Thursday, hey, they're probably out. That's not the case with Deebo.
"Deebo's a guy you wait [for], and that's what we'll continue to do, to see that he can get healthy there before [the game]. But we're not going to put Deebo in harm's way, either. He's got to make up some ground, and we'll see where that ends up at the end of the week."
Also absent from practice were defensive lineman Arik Armstead (foot, ankle), linebacker Dre Greenlaw (calf), and fullback Kyle Juszczyk (finger). Wide receiver Jauan Jennings (hamstring) was seen in uniform, working on a side field.
At start of 49ers practice, for the 3rd straight day, there's still no sign of:
WR Deebo Samuel (hamstring)
DL Arik Armstead (foot, ankle)
LB Dre Greenlaw (calf)
FB Kyle Juszczyk (finger)WR Jauan Jennings (hamstring) is working on side field in uniform
— Jake Hutchinson (@hutchdiesel) October 28, 2022