Kyle Shanahan Shares Positive News on Deebo Samuel and Elijah Mitchell Returning
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The 49ers have been able to achieve wins the last two months against anyone and with anyone.
Usually when a team loses a couple of their key players they end up derailing to a degree. It would've been understandable with the 49ers considering they have been without Elijah Mitchell (knee sprain) and Deebo Samuel (ankle and knee sprain). But the 49ers have been managing efficiently without them and winning games with relative ease.
Still, getting them back would be enormous for the 49ers as the playoffs are just a few weeks away. Friday at his press conference, Kyle Shanahan shared positive news on Samuel and Mitchell returning.
"He did good," said Shanahan on his observation of Samuel at practice. "He was able to do individual with us, run a bunch of routes and then finish the rest of it on the side, so he's getting there and right on schedule.”
Phenomenal news to hear from Shanahan regarding how Samuel looks. It was only just over two weeks ago that Samuel was folded into a compromising position where his leg looked incredibly awkward. Given that Samuel is already looking close to full fitness is an amazing win for him and the 49ers. So when can the 49ers expect him back?
“We'll see how practice goes," said Shanahan on Samuel returning in Week 18. "he has to do more practice than he did this week, but he's definitely got a chance to.”
I would expect the 49ers to roll Samuel out in the regular season finale against the Cardinals. Shanahan doesn't want any of his players rusty going into the players. Making his debut in the playoffs isn't the ideal return for Samuel, but it really depends on how fit he is.
If he is basically healthy with no concerns, then the 49ers should roll him out against Arizona. In doing so, limiting his snaps is the best course of action. That way he can get his feet wet and get back into the thick of things. Samuel will use that game as a primer for the playoffs essentially.
As for Mitchell, the 49ers opened up his 21-day Injured Reserve practice window.
“Yeah, we actually would've opened it today or even maybe yesterday, but he's been homesick the last two days. We’ve had a bug going around, but he was good enough to start practicing today, so we'll definitely start that next week.”
Mitchell will likely be a playoff return, unless he shows he is able to handle a sizable workload next week in practice. But the 49ers would be best to bring him along slowly. Either way, the 49ers are getting stronger with two of their best players returning for their playoff run.
