NFL legend Jerry Rice criticized the San Francisco 49ers over the use of the team's skill players. It was the ankle injury to wide receiver Deebo Samuel that prompted the Hall of Fame receiver to post the following after the game to his Instagram account.
"Please stop running our skill players up the middle. @trey.lance @jimmypolo10 now @19problemz all hurt!!"
Of course, the play wasn't designed to have Samuel run up the middle. The receiver was supposed to head to the outside, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense forced Samuel to change course in an attempt to make something out of nothing.
Rice isn't alone in wishing the play never took place, though. Head coach Kyle Shanahan regrets and play call and even frantically tried to stop it before the football was snapped, probably seeing what the Buccaneers defense was about to do.
After the play, Shanahan was engaged—and a bit enraged—with one of the refs.
"I was upset because I called a timeout before the play, Shanahan explained to reporters on Monday morning via a conference call. "So, I was upset that the play got ran, but I wasn't close enough to the ref, so he heard me yell it, but he couldn't confirm that it was me, and so I get his position. I have to talk to him about it, but I was just upset with it because I tried to stop the play."
Unfortunately for Samuel and the 49ers, the play was snapped. After fumbling the football, the star receiver's left leg was trapped under Buccaneers linebacker Rakeem Nunez-Roches. Samuel was seen grasping his leg in obvious pain.
Samuel tried to put weight on his foot but couldn't. That prompted the 49ers medical staff to bring out the cart to transport the player to the locker room for further evaluation. Samuel was emotional as teammates gathered nearby, offering support before the receiver departed.
"I thought I did enough to [stop] it, and then obviously what happened on the play made me a lot more sensitive about it," Shanahan continued, "but I was too far away from him, and he couldn't confirm that it was me, and it was a last-second thing, so I'm not holding the grudge to it or anything. But it was just unfortunate."
The 49ers await the MRI results on Samuel. The receiver is believed to have avoided a much more serious injury. After the game, Shanahan explained that Samuel didn't suffer any broken bones. The injury is believed to be a high-ankle sprain, but we'll learn more soon.