49ers Notebook

Deebo Samuel will miss some time, leaving the 49ers four available receivers

Kyle Shanahan put no number on the hamstring Monday and said a practice-squad receiver will most likely be activated for Washington. The NFL suspended Dre Greenlaw one game for the head-butt in Seattle, and his appeal is heard Tuesday.

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Sam KezarOct 12, 20264 min read
Every call on this site goes on a public ledger and gets graded. The misses stay up.
Deebo Samuel Sr., in the 49ers' white road jersey with number 19 and gold pants, runs with the ball at Lumen Field on Oct. 11, 2026, with a Seahawks defender in navy closing from the right.

Deebo Samuel will miss some time with the hamstring he hurt in the third quarter at Seattle, Kyle Shanahan said on a conference call with reporters Monday. "Got it pretty good," Shanahan said. He put no number of weeks on it. Garret Wallow strained a hamstring in the same game, and Shanahan said he "is going to miss at least a couple weeks also," calling Wallow's injury "not quite as bad as Deebo's." Nick Wagoner of ESPN reports Samuel is out for at least the next couple of games and likely longer.

When he went down. Samuel was hurt on a run with 5:06 left in the third quarter, the play on which he fumbled and Seattle recovered, per the game book. He had played 26 of the 49ers' 60 offensive snaps. Through five games he has 16 catches for 206 yards and three touchdowns, and nine carries for 78 yards.

The receiver count. Five receivers are on the 53: Brandin Cooks, Jacob Cowing, Mike Evans, Samuel and Jordan Watkins. "With Deebo out, we have five guys on the roster, and Deebo being out, that would be four," Shanahan said. "So the next guys up to get activated would be one of the three guys on practice squad." The club's practice-squad table lists four receivers, Wesley Grimes, Will Pauling, Xavier Smith and Malik Turner, and Turner was elevated for the Denver game and played. Shanahan said the club likes five receivers up on game day and will "most likely decide on one of those guys throughout the week." Cowing hurt an ankle on a kickoff return Sunday and returned. Evans played 38 of 60 snaps with his ribs. Four receivers sit on injured reserve: Christian Kirk, Ricky Pearsall, Demarcus Robinson and De'Zhaun Stribling. Robinson went on Sept. 26 and must miss four games, so Washington is the last of the four.

Greenlaw is suspended one game. The NFL suspended Dre Greenlaw without pay for one game Monday for the head-butt that got him ejected in the second quarter. "During the second quarter, Greenlaw used his helmet to headbutt Seattle linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who was not wearing a helmet, violating Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, which applies to 'any act which is contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship,'" the league said in its statement. The league's transaction wire carries him on Reserve/Suspended by Commissioner as of Monday. Unless the appeal succeeds, he misses Washington at Levi's Stadium next Monday night and can return to the active roster on Tuesday, Oct. 20, per Wagoner. "I was disappointed they decided to do that, but it is what it is," Shanahan said.

The appeal is Tuesday. Greenlaw is appealing, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. "I was told that there's an appeal process tomorrow," Shanahan said. "I was also told a couple hours ago that he was suspended. So, I'm assuming he is. Hopefully the appeal process can go better tomorrow, we can get it rescinded, but got to wait to see how that goes." A year ago, with Denver, the league suspended Greenlaw one game for chasing referee Brad Allen and verbally threatening him after a win over the Giants. That appeal was heard and the suspension was upheld on Oct. 21, 2025, and he missed the Cowboys game. The league fined him $11,941 last week for unsportsmanlike conduct toward Denver's sideline, per Wagoner.

The linebacker math. The 53 carries six linebackers: Fred Warner, Greenlaw, Jaden Dugger, Luke Gifford, Wallow and Tatum Bethune. With Greenlaw suspended and Wallow out, four are left for Washington. Wallow played 24 special-teams snaps Sunday and none on defense, per the game book. Bethune was inactive Sunday and was not on the Week 5 injury report. Jalen Graham is on the practice squad. Nick Martin, on injured reserve since Aug. 31 with a hamstring, is eligible to return. "Nick is getting close," Shanahan said. "I haven't asked about Nick. I know he's getting close, but that's something we'll probably look into in these next couple days."

Dugger's line. Greenlaw played 26 of 63 defensive snaps before the ejection at 6:30 of the second quarter. Dugger played 47, and the game book credits him with seven tackles, two assists, a sack for seven yards, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit. "I also thought Dugger played really well in that spot," Shanahan said.

Bosa, Juszczyk and Thompson. Nick Bosa, Kyle Juszczyk and James Thompson Jr. "all got a chance" for Washington, Shanahan said, "but definitely not saying they're good to go right now. We've got to continue to evaluate them throughout the week and it'll take all week." Bosa (calf) and Thompson (ankle) have each missed three games; Juszczyk (knee) has missed one. Luke Farrell did the fullback's work in Seattle, 36 of 60 offensive snaps and 24 on special teams, per the book. "He probably put in the most work out of any guy on our team," Shanahan said.

Cowing keeps the punts. His muff in the first quarter set up a Seattle touchdown. Shanahan was asked whether it was enough to rethink the job. "No, it wasn't enough," he said. "It's something that he can't do. Should have caught a fair catch, called a fair catch on it, but no, we're not changing his position yet."

Mustapha. Malik Mustapha played all 63 defensive snaps, and the book credits him with five tackles, two assists, a pass defensed and a fumble recovery. Shanahan named two plays, the hit on Jaxon Smith-Njigba and the fourth-down tackle that pushed Cooper Kupp out of bounds short of the line to gain with 54 seconds left. "I thought he played unbelievable," Shanahan said.

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On the record

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Kaelon Black is on the San Francisco 49ers' initial 53-man roster as announced at the August 30, 2026 mandatory cut. Scored off the initial 53 only: the practice squad is a miss, a later signing or elevation after the initial roster is a miss, and being placed on injured reserve from the initial 53 counts as a hit.

Black is a rookie running back whose Wednesday workload increased because Jordan James fractured a rib, which is the most fragile possible reason to be getting reps. If James is back before cut day the reps go with him. Against the call: the 49ers carried McCaffrey plus a thin room behind him, and a back who has taken first-team-adjacent work in camp is usually kept over a body they would have to teach. This resolves in 32 days and it is genuinely close.

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