Golden Nuggets: Deebo Samuel provides an update on his injury

When news broke that San Francisco 49ers’ wide receiver Deebo Samuel suffered a Jones Fracture last week, it was a reminder of how crappy of a year 2020 has been.

Samuel showed a ton of promise during his rookie season, finishing with 57 receptions for 802 receiving yards and three touchdowns, he also added 159 yards rushing for three scores, making him a valuable contributor to San Francisco’s offense.

The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport originally said Samuel was looking at 12-16 weeks of recovery, but during a recent Instagram Live appearance with @OurSF49ers, Samuel had some encouraging words for The Faithful.

The 24-year-old is still in hospital, but said his surgery went perfect, adding that he should be back in 10 weeks, which means he would be ready for Week 1.

Pro Football Network broke down Samuel’s importance to the Niners’ offense in 2019 using its Offensive Share Metric, which measures how responsible a player was for their statistical production, and therefore helps indicate how much impact they had on the overall offense.

“In 2019, Samuel was one of the best wide receivers according to this metric; his grade of 38.63 was the second-highest among all qualifying wide receivers, and he maintained that excellence throughout 2019.”

There’s no rush to bring him back, especially with a soft schedule through the first three games. With the lack of proven experience behind Samuel on San Francisco’s depth chart, it’s imperative he gets back to 100% before stepping back on the field, especially because we saw what happened to Trent Taylor last year when dealing with the same injury.

On to some links:

The pandemic has made for a strange NFL offseason, with workouts, and meetings taking place virtually. 49ers’ head coach Kyle Shanahan talked about the negatives and positives of the last couple of months. (h/t David Bonilla of 49ers Web Zone)

Former defensive tackle Bryant Young will be inducted to the Niners team Hall of Fame. The team’s all-time sackers leader explained why he thinks Nick Bosa will break his record of 89.5 sacks before his career is done. (h/t 247Sports)

Speaking of Young, just how good was he as a pro? Fansided’s Peter Panacy looks back at the big man’s time with the Niners.

Another legendary 49er had high praise for an incoming rookie. NBC Bay Area’s Josh Scrock highlights how Ronnie Lott believes Javon Kinlaw has all the tools to be great in the NFL.

San Francisco receiver Kendrick Bourne is clapping back at his critics. Bonilla highlighted the wideout’s recent Twitter interaction with a media member. (49ers Web Zone)

Did general manager John Lynch make a mistake by agreeing to restructure offensive lineman Trent Williams’ contract? SI’s Jose Luis Sanchez examines if the Niners will regret the decision.