Deebo’s calf strain challenges 49ers as roster decisions loom

The 49ers will head into their Week 3 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams without Deebo Samuel, who suffered a calf strain towards the end of San Francisco's 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. Now the 49ers will be without their two biggest offensive playmakers for the foreseeable future with Samuel joining Christian McCaffrey, who will miss at least the next three games after being placed on injured reserve Saturday. Coach Kyle Shanahan knows it will be a challenge without the two stars. "Always when you lose good players, it's real tough," Shanahan said on Monday via conference call. "But it happens all over the league and it's a high part of this league and a huge part of the game." Placing McCaffrey, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, on IR opened up a spot on the 49ers' 53-man roster that the Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have yet to fill. With injuries at both running back and wide receiver, the spot could be filled with either position. "We aren't sure yet," Shanahan said. "We will discuss that and see what the best options are. We usually get three backs up for a game and we continue to have three backs up, so not sure if we...