- Deebo Samuel’s status was a big question after he injured his left shoulder
- Tests earlier this week showed no fracture in the wide receiver’s bone
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San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel has been cleared to play in Sunday’s NFC championship game against the Detroit Lions after leaving last week’s game with a shoulder injury.
Samuel was a full participant in practice Friday and was not injured as San Francisco (13-5) enters the conference title game in good health.
ESPN had Previously reported on Monday that Samuel had a “50-50” photo of his suit this weekend.
“It’s huge,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. ‘A bit scary at the start of the week. The fact that he was able to go all out today and no restrictions were imposed on him is certainly a good thing for us.”
Samuel’s status was a big question after he injured his left shoulder in San Francisco’s opener against Green Bay last week.
Deebo Samuel will play for the 49ers on Sunday after suffering his shoulder injury against the Packers
Samuel was a full participant in training on Friday and was not injured
He was initially checked for a concussion but was cleared to return. He tried to play through the shoulder injury, but was in too much pain and could not continue.
He caught just two passes for 24 yards in the 24-21 victory.
“At the time it felt really bad,” Samuel said. ‘I was a little scared. I thought I broke it again. I was everywhere. In such a big game, I had a million emotions on the sidelines to keep it together for my team.”
Tests earlier this week showed that there was no bone fracture and Samuel was able to return to the field to practice on a limited basis on Thursday.
Shanahan said he had contingencies in the game plan in case Samuel couldn’t play, but he felt confident when the tests came back Monday and the pain started to subside.
Samuel suffered a hairline fracture in his shoulder early in a Week 6 game in Cleveland and missed the next two games. The Niners lost all three of those games.
Detroit (14-5) will be without left guard Jonah Jackson, who injured his knee in last week’s win over Tampa Bay, but will have second-team All-Pro center Frank Ragnow available for the game.
Samuel and the 49ers will face Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions this weekend in Santa Clara
Ragnow has been slowed by injuries to his ankle, toe, knee and back and did not practice until Friday but did not have an injury designation for the game.
“He’s good,” coach Dan Campbell said. ‘Frank is doing well. And Frank will be ready to go. I mean, you’re not going to keep him out of this, and he’s getting better every day. So he will be ready.”
The Lions are also expected to get edge rusher James Houston back for the first time since he hurt his ankle in Week 2. He was activated from injured reserve last week and is set to play Sunday.
The Lions will also be without receiver Kalif Raymond (knee). Cornerback Chase Lucas (illness) and third-string quarterback Hendon Hooker (tooth) are listed as questionable.
San Francisco linebacker Oren Burks is questionable after hurting his shoulder during practice Thursday and defensive lineman Kalia Davis is questionable with an ankle injury.