After exiting Sunday’s game with a pneumonia-like illness, Deebo Samuel has been released from the hospital, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Samuel came into the matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs expecting to play through the illness, but he played just a few snaps before exiting the game. Later on Sunday night, Samuel checked into the hospital because of fluid buildup in his lungs.
“I think it started acting up in the middle of the night Saturday night or early Sunday morning and then it just kind of evolved as the day went,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game, per ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. “Once we found out he had the fluid in his lungs and stuff after the game, then I believe they sent him over there.”
Shanahan also said Sunday that there is no timeline for Samuel’s return, but checking out of the hospital likely means he’s trending in the right direction.
Samuel, who missed the Niners’ Week 3 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams due to a calf strain, is San Francisco’s fourth-leading receiver with 335 receiving yards and a touchdown. He’s coming off a season in which he recorded 892 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 15 games.
While San Francisco got some good news about one of its star receivers on Tuesday, another received devastating news on Monday.
Brandon Aiyuk suffered a torn ACL and MCL in Sunday’s contests with the Chiefs and will miss the remainder of the season. Aiyuk had 25 receptions for 374 receiving yards through seven games.
The fifth-year receiver inked a four-year, $120 million contract extension this offseason after a tremendous 2023 campaign where he collected 1,342 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
The injury woes for the Niners extend beyond just Aiyuk and Samuel. Jauan Jennings, San Francisco’s leading receiver this year, missed Sunday’s game with a hip injury and his status for this week is unclear. Shanahan said the 49ers are “really hoping to get him back this week.”
Jennings, a fourth-year player out of Tennessee, is putting together the best season of his career so far with 404 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 25 receptions. With Aiyuk done for the year and Samuel potentially out for this week’s matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco desperately needs at least one of its top receivers on the field amid a 3-4 start.