The 49ers have high hopes for wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
San Francisco selected him in the second round out of South Carolina, and the team’s braintrust expects Samuel to possibly earn a starting role as a rookie.
But in the team’s recent full-squad minicamp, Samuel had to sit out with what head coach Kyle Shanahan called a “tweaked hip.”
Fortunately for Samuel and the 49ers, however, Samuel is expected to be fully ready to participate in training camp when it opens in July.
Samuel told the NFL Network’s Lindsay Rhodes this week he’s fine.
“It wasn’t nothing serious,” said Samuel. “It was, I think, just being cautious. Now is not the time to overstrain it. We have a month (until training camp), and this season is a couple of months away. We just figured we’re not going to force it.
“If it was a game-type situation, it was something I would have played with. It was nothing serious.”
Samuel said minicamp was still valuable, even though he couldn’t participate. He was able to watch the veterans and pick up information from them and the coaching staff.
Now, he’s eager for training camp.
“We don’t consider it as time off,” Samuel told Rhodes, of the period between minicamp and training camp. “We consider this as time to work and come back in the best shape possible, and be ready to rock and roll when training camp hits.”
Samuel, a solid 5-foot-11, 214-pound wideout, had 62 catches as a senior at South Carolina for 882 yards and 11 touchdowns. When he was drafted, the 49ers said they love the way he battles for the football and his physical style of play.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Source: NBC Bay Area