San Francisco 49ers star wide receiver Deebo Samuel strained a calf late in the team’s Week 2 loss to the Minnesota Vikings and will miss a couple of weeks, coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday.
Shanahan said Samuel believes he picked up the injury on the third-to-last play of the game, a 23-17 loss.
Samuel had a standout game, catching eight passes for 110 yards. He has 13 receptions for 164 yards through two games and added a rushing touchdown in the Niners’ Week 1 win over the New York Jets.
Samuel, a former Pro Bowler, continues to be a dual threat as a receiver and rusher. The 28-year-old has amassed 4,286 receiving yards (on 296 catches) and 19 touchdown catches as well as 1,020 rushing yards and 20 scores on the ground in his six-year career in San Francisco.
The 49ers will begin divisional play over the next four weeks and may be without Samuel for some or all of those games — at the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3, home against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5 and at the Seattle Seahawks on “Thursday Night Football” in Week 6. Their bye week isn’t until Week 9.
The loss of Samuel comes shortly after the 49ers placed running back Christian McCaffrey, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, on injured reserve with calf tightness and Achilles tendinitis.
