Deebo Samuel hopes to be on the field with his San Francisco 49ers teammates on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. However, speaking with reporters after Friday's practice, the wide receiver didn't sound overly optimistic about his chances of playing this weekend.
The 49ers officially listed Samuel as "questionable" for Sunday. His wide receiver teammate, Jauan Jennings, was listed as "doubtful," making him unlikely to play.
While Samuel was listed as a limited practice participant on Friday, most of his work was done on a side field with trainers.
"I feel pretty good," Samuel said after practice. "We'll just see how I continue to progress for the next couple of days, and then we'll just see what happens."
Head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that Samuel's ribs were feeling good. However, it is his knee that has made his availability uncertain.
"I think his rib feels good," Shanahan said. "I think that's not a problem for him. Just had to stay off his legs most of this week to get some of the soreness out of his knee, and he was able to go some today for the first time, so that gives him a chance there for Sunday."
Samuel agrees with that assessment.
"The knee was a little bit more sore than the ribs," Samuel said. "It kind of happened on that screen I got called on, on 3rd-and-15 in the first quarter when I instantly landed right on it. But at the time, I wasn't feeling how bad it was, but it did get flamed up and it was pretty sore."
Samuel stepped up last week against the New York Giants when wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk was inactive due to a shoulder injury. Samuel finished with a game-leading 129 receiving yards and a touchdown on six receptions.
This weekend, it may be Aiyuk up and Samuel missing. Samuel was proud of how the other receivers also stepped up in Aiyuk's absence.
"I take real pride in kind of like last week, Brandon was down, so it was good to know Ronnie Bell and Ray-Ray [McCloud] just be there to help the team as much as possible. We want B.A. to be out there, but it's kind of a good thing because, at the end of the day, injuries happen.
"So it just has to be that next-man-up mentality, and for the guys to be ready for the moment, and don't let the moment get too big."
