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SEATTLE — The 49ers improved to 5-0 and picked up a huge division win on Sunday, but their injury woes went from bad to worse in the process.
Already missing four of their top five receivers from the start of training camp, the 49ers got the unfortunate news after the 32-29 win over the Seahawks that Deebo Samuel’s hamstring injury will cause him to miss a good chunk of time, too.
Samuel left the game in the third quarter after fumbling and falling awkwardly on a designed run out of the backfield, and coach Kyle Shanahan revealed Monday that he “got it pretty good.”
Backup linebacker Garrett Wallow also injured his hamstring, which Shanahan termed “not quite as bad as Deebo” but said would still keep him out “at least a couple weeks.”
That doesn’t bode well for Samuel’s timeline to return.
The 49ers are already missing Christian Kirk, Ricky Pearsall, De’Zhaun Stribling and Demarcus Robinson. Meanwhile, Mike Evans is only two weeks removed from breaking his ribs, though it didn’t deter him from hauling in seven catches for 113 yards against Seattle’s vaunted defense.
The 49ers were down to three healthy receivers at one point after Jacob Cowing tweaked his ankle, too, but he eventually returned to the game and it proved not to be serious.
“But the numbers got low real quick,” Shanahan said. “That’s why we like to have five up for gameday.”
At the moment, the 49ers have only four healthy receivers on their roster, so they will have to make some kind of move to carry five on Monday night against the Commanders.
Shanahan said he expects the 49ers to elevate one of the four receivers on their practice squad, but “we’ll always look” for outside help. San Francisco brought in veteran Brandin Cooks, who played almost every snap after Samuel left the game, a likely preview of what’s to come.
As far as the fifth receiver goes, the 49ers will decide between Wesley Grimes, Will Pauling and Malik Turner. The former two are both undrafted rookies, whereas Turner has appeared in 48 games over seven NFL seasons, including seven with the Niners since 2022.
Turner is also a contributor on special teams, seeming to make him the likeliest candidate to get the call. The 49ers also recently signed former Rams receiver and punt returner Xavier Smith to the practice squad, but he is a longer shot as he gets up to speed on San Francisco’s playbook.
Kirk (calf) missed most of training camp and was placed on injured reserve when the season began. He is eligible to be activated, but Shanahan wasn’t optimistic when asked Sunday.