National Football League

49ers' Deebo Samuel has no shoulder fracture, but status for NFC title game unclear

Updated Jan. 22, 2024 4:58 p.m. ET

The San Francisco 49ers squeaked out a 24-21 win over the Green Bay Packers in Saturday night's NFC Divisional Round, but the health of Deebo Samuel remains in question.

The star wide receiver injured his left shoulder in the first half Saturday and did not return. It's the same shoulder that he banged up in the middle of the season, causing him to miss the better part of three games — all Niners losses. After having tests on the shoulder over the weekend, Samuel is "50/50" to play in the NFC Championship Game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), ESPN reported Monday morning.

Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Monday that Samuel does not have a fracture in the shoulder but is still in considerable pain, so his status for Sunday remains unclear.

Samuel initially was sidelined — and examined for a head injury — after taking a big hit in the first quarter. He cleared the concussion protocol, but the shoulder injury ended his night early. He finished with two receptions for 24 yards.

With Samuel out, the Niners' offense struggled but rode two rushing scores from running back Christian McCaffrey and a 32-yard touchdown pass from Brock Purdy to tight end George Kittle in the comeback victory.

That sent the Niners to their fourth title game appearance since drafting Samuel five years ago. The "wide-back" registered 60 receptions for 892 yards and seven touchdowns and ran for 225 yards and five touchdowns across 15 games in the regular season.

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