One of the biggest reasons for the success of the San Francisco 49ers during the 2019 season was because of the emergence of then rookie wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Unfortunately for Samuel and the 49ers, he will miss the next 12-16 weeks while recovering from a broken foot.
Samuel broke his foot while working out in Nashville and is dealing with a Jones fracture in his foot, which could lead him to miss the start of the 2020 NFL regular season, if it starts on time. Samuel, however, on Twitter said that he expects to be back in ten weeks, which is extremely optimistic.
For context, Hakeem Nicks had a similar injury to Samuel back in 2012, which derailed his career. Not saying that this will happen to the second-year wide receiver, but for Samuel to say he will be back in ten weeks should have fans worried a tad.
The loss for the 49ers is an immense blow. Samuel had the most receiving yards by a wide receiver on the 49ers with 802 yards, and proved to be a nice gadget player, running the jet sweep. The 49ers lost Emmanuel Sanders in free agency, so the only remaining wide receivers on the 49ers roster is rookie Brandon Aiyuk, as well as Kendrick Bourne and Dante Pettis, who combined for 467 yards and seven touchdowns last season. George Kittle is still on the roster and is one of the top tight ends in football. Kittle had 1,053 receiving yards, most on the team, and five touchdowns.
Some notable free agent wide receivers that the 49ers could sign include Josh Gordon and Antonio Brown.
