As your Week 7 fantasy score has already told you, 49ers WR Deebo Samuel barely saw the field in Sunday's loss to the Chiefs because of an illness. We learned about this just ahead of the game, but The Athletic's Matt Barrows reported at the time that Samuel was still expected to play. He technically did ... for 4 snaps.
HC Kyle Shanahan afterward: "Throat, stomach things, just real fatigued. Struggled to breathe, couldn't catch his breath. That's why he kept trying to fight through it, but once he was struggling with the breathing and everything, we had to shut him down."
San Francisco lost this game by 10 at home, so it clearly could have used Samuel -- especially after WR Brandon Aiyuk left with his knee injury. So there's no reason to doubt Shanahan's truthfulness or Samuel's issues here.
The situation's obviously frustrating, but it's also not common.
Players who enter games questionable with illnesses and play generally do so at roughly their normal rates of playing time.
We'll always keep watch for pregame issues and share them in Shark Bites. But there's no larger takeaway from this particular situation.
Samuel should only carry higher weekly floors and ceilings the rest of the way, with Aiyuk looking likely to miss the rest of the season.
Pass rate over expected for and against data for all 32 teams. Find out which teams want to air it out and which want to run the rock. Useful information when making start/sit decisions, waiver-wire moves, and trades.
Read More »
The film shows rookie RB Kyle Monangai flashing star traits in Chicago, plus one TE whose talent outweighs his stats and another due for regression.
Read More »
Week 10 usage moved markets. Woody Marks seized Houston’s backfield while the Rams shifted to a near 50/50 backfield split. Let's break down the eight changes that flipped fantasy values.
Read More »
You have our personal money-back guarantee: If you’re not happy with our service for any reason, just reach out by December 31, 2025, and we’ll give you 100% of your subscription money back. No strings attached. You can cancel with one-click from your account page anytime.
Search
