Deebo Samuel did not practice on Wednesday. The San Francisco 49ers wide receiver is recovering from the shoulder injury he sustained during this past weekend's playoff game against the Green Bay Packers. Samuel is still dealing with some discomfort but seems to be progressing as Sunday's NFC Championship Game showdown with the Detroit Lions nears.
General manager John Lynch joined the "Murph and Markus" show on Bay Area radio station KNBR on Thursday morning and was asked if Samuel is expected to be on the field this weekend.
"Deebo's doing really well in his rehab, I'll tell you that," Lynch stated. "We've been encouraged by the early signs. We did the scans and all that. We got good news there. And then it's kind of, 'Okay, what's his pain? What's his range of motion?'"
NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported that Samuel was still struggling with full motion in his shoulder, and Lynch's comments seem to confirm that. The positive news is that this week's tests did not reveal any fracture in his shoulder, and the receiver was seen working on a side field while his teammates practiced on Wednesday.
"Those things continue to improve," Lynch continued. "He did some work yesterday, off to the side. We'll see if we can advance that today. So I think [it's] very much a fluid situation. It's the NFC Championship, though, and I can promise you this: Deebo is going to be doing everything he can, and he'll be wanting to play by the end.
"Do we clear him? Do we allow for that? We sure would love to have him. So I think there's still a lot of time left in this week, and we're a better team when he's out there, so we're going to do everything in our power, he's going to do everything in his power, to have him out there."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.