Eagles vs 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel's return boosts San Francisco ahead of Week 4 game
The San Francisco 49ers received a massive boost in the form of Deebo Samuel and George Kittle's return. The WR and tight end returned to practice on Wednesday, September 30, ahead of their Sunday, October 4, clash against the Philadelphia Eagles. This hopefully puts an end to the 49ers injury-plagued season so far as they fancy their Week 4 chances with a win against a winless Eagles.
After spending three weeks on the injury roster, Samuel was eligible to hit practice and is yet to be activated on the playing roster. However, his participation on Sunday is still in doubt with the team taking a probable call closer to the gameday. Coach Kyle Shanahan was optimistic but exercised caution. "He's healthy so we just want to see him out there and get back in the swing of playing football. I know it's been a while since he has. I know he's been working hard on his own and with our trainers. ... We just need to see him go through three days and what type of shape he's in and if he can protect himself, he'll be out there."
In comparison, Kittle, after missing the last couple of games took part in full-tilt practice. "We'll always be smart with him," Shanahan said. "We're not gonna just throw him in with his normal reps and everything, but he's full go. He'll be involved in it all and I'm excited to see him out there going." That said, the team will still miss the services of QB Jimmy Garoppolo, RB Raheem Mostert, defensive end Dee Ford, Dre Greenlaw, cornerback Emmanuel Moseley, tight end Jordan Reed, and cornerback K'Waun Williams.
Shanahan also shed light on Garoppolo's return down with an ankle injury. "He's just got to be able to be healthy in terms of if he can run around and protect himself and make the throws. Any time you're dealing with an ankle, you might feel all right when you're standing there but can you move around and get into awkward positions without hurting yourself? That's really what we'd have to see. It would be tough for us to see that and truly judge that if he didn't get into practice, so I'm hopeful he can get out there for at least one live period."
The 49ers will be a confident unit ahead of their scrimmage against the Eagles. They are coming off two back-to-back wins against the New York Jets and the New York Giants. As far as roster updates go,Taybor Pepper and Daniel Helm have been signees for the side. The one question remains though: Will George Kittle play the full game on Sunday?
Quick notes:
Philadelphia Eagles vs San Francisco 49ers
Time: 8:20 pm ET, October 4
Venue: Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
Watch: NBC
Listen: NFL Game Pass, Westwood One, and Sirius XM