DeeboSamuel Sr.

News: 16 hours agoSan Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said that Samuel strained his right hamstring "pretty good" during Sunday's 32-29 win over Seattle and is "going to miss at least a couple weeks," David Lombardi of SFStandard.com reports.

Spin: Samuel underwent an MRI on his hamstring following Sunday's game, and the results showed an injury significant enough for the veteran wide receiver to miss multiple weeks. Given the timeline laid out by Shanahan, Samuel looks set to sit out in Week 6 against the Commanders and Week 7 in Atlanta before potentially returning following the team's Week 8 bye. Shanahan indicated that Christian Kirk (calf) won't be ready to return from injured reserve this week, so the 49ers likely will head into the matchup with Washington with Mike Evans, Brandin Cooks, Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins as their available options at receiver.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Samuel reunited with the 49ers in July after solid yet unspectacular lone season in Washington. The former second-round pick cleared 85 touches and 800 scrimmage yards for the fifth consecutive season and finished 25th among receivers in fantasy points -- his third-career top-30 fantasy campaign. Samuel's role as a short-area target and occasional rusher gets the ball in his hands plenty (he's ranked in the top 15 among WRs in touches and RAC five years in a row), but it doesn't allow him much scoring upside (10 TDs over the last two years, and he's never cleared five end zone targets in one season). Now 30 years old, Samuel figures to resume his role as a short-area playmaker in Kyle Shanahan's highly-efficient offense. He's a fine late-round flier with WR3/flex upside.