SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Deebo Samuel said Friday he’s feeling much better after a two-night hospital stay this week, but isn’t sure whether he’ll play against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. The San Francisco 49ers have listed him as questionable on their injury report.
“I don’t know,” Samuel said of his status. “We’ll just see how everything goes tomorrow.”
Deebo Samuel (right side of screen) doesn’t appear to be suffering the effects of his early-week bout with pneumonia. Ricky Pearsall also in high spirits. pic.twitter.com/HEu9YTLMf8
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) October 25, 2024
If Samuel plays, it will punctuate the end of an eventful week. He was admitted to the hospital Sunday night after being pulled from the game against the Kansas City Chiefs due to shortness of breath.
He was diagnosed with pneumonia and wasn’t discharged until Tuesday. The next day, however, he was sprinting on a side field while his teammates practiced and he was a limited participant in practice Thursday and Friday.
Coach Kyle Shanahan said Samuel’s stamina has gotten better each day.
“We’ve gone slow with him,” he said. “We didn’t push him that hard.”
Samuel said he knew something was wrong during pregame warmups when he had no energy to run. An IV didn’t help. He played four snaps in the first half and had trouble catching his breath. It was after the game that team doctors thought he might have pneumonia and he was taken to the hospital.
“It was scary because it was kind of hard to breathe for real and I couldn’t really take deep breaths,” he said.
He also didn’t like spending two nights in the hospital.
“I have hospital anxiety,” he said. “I don’t really like being in the hospital. But whatever it took for me to get better, I’m all for it.”
Samuel’s condition adds to the murky nature of the 49ers’ receiving corps.
Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco’s receiving leader in 2023, is out for the season after tearing ACL and MCL ligaments in his right knee, while Jauan Jennings will miss his second straight game with a hip injury. Jennings didn’t practice at all this week.
The 49ers likely will have tight end George Kittle, who leads the team in both receiving yards (404) and touchdowns (five). He’s listed as questionable with a foot sprain but practiced Thursday and Friday.
Kittle caught three touchdown passes in last year’s 42-10 win over the Cowboys and also was fined $13,659 for revealing a T-shirt that said “F—- Dallas” following a touchdown run by Jordan Mason in the fourth quarter.
Asked if the T-shirt would make an appearance this weekend, Kittle said in a booming voice: “You’ll find out on Sunday Night Football.”
Seldom-utilized receivers like Chris Conley and Ronnie Bell, as well as rookies Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing, also are bound to see more action than they usually do. Pearsall and Cowing had their first-ever NFL receptions in Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs, and Cowing led all 49ers wideouts with 50 receiving yards.
Kittle called the NFL the “land of opportunity” and noted quarterback Brock Purdy got his chance two seasons ago because the two quarterbacks ahead of him got hurt.
“He had to step up and then we got to see who Brock Purdy is,” Kittle said. “I’m not saying that these guys are going to replace Brandon Aiyuk by any means because Brandon’s an amazing player and that’s why we paid him the way he did. But now they have an opportunity to go out there and make a name for themselves.”
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(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
