49ers’ Deebo Samuel Out ‘A Few Weeks’ With Calf Injury, Kyle Shanahan Says | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats & Rumors

The San Francisco 49ers’ already weak offense has suffered another blow as another key player will be out for some time.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Monday that star forward Deebo Samuel will be out “a couple of weeks” due to a calf injury.

Samuel led San Francisco with eight catches and 110 receiving yards in Sunday’s 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. According to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner, Samuel told Shanahan that he believes he injured his calf while making a short catch late in the game.

With the loss of Samuel, the 49ers are missing one of their biggest sources of production on offense. San Francisco has already been without star running back Christian McCaffrey for the first two games of the year as he recovers from Achilles tendonitis. Shanahan said after Sunday’s game that the return timeline for the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year is unclear.

“Nobody knows,” Shanahan said when asked about McCaffrey’s possible return. “We’re dealing with tendonitis, so nobody knows. He doesn’t know. We don’t know and (we’ll) take it day by day.”

The 49ers placed McCaffrey on the injured list on Saturday, so the earliest he could return is Week 6 against the Seattle Seahawks.

Without Samuel, San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy will have to distribute the ball to multiple players for the team’s offense to be effective. Star tight end George Kittle will be counted on to take pressure off the outside receivers by producing over the middle.

The reigning NFC champions will be looking to stay alive until Samuel and McCaffrey return to the starting lineup and try to help them reach a second straight Super Bowl.