San Francisco 49ers Pro Bowler Deebo Samuel was carted off from the football field Sunday after suffering an apparent injury to his left leg.
With 5 minutes to play in the second quarter, Samuel received a handoff up the middle and was awkwardly tackled by Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ lineman, Rakeem Nunez-Roches. Samuel’s left leg appeared to get trapped underneath Nunez-Roches as he was being brought to the ground.
Samuel was incapable of making it off the field under his own power and needed a golf cart to escort him to the locker room for evaluation. He did not return to the game.
Deebo Samuel went down awkwardly on this play in what looks to be a possible knee injury 🙏pic.twitter.com/70bwNfQwWn
— 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 (@sportingnews) December 11, 2022
An emotional Deebo Samuel was carted off the field 💔
(via @NFLonFOX)pic.twitter.com/Wd3R3hl90v
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 11, 2022
Although San Francisco would roll on to a 35-7 victory, the injury to Samuel is a big gut punch to the 49ers’ Super Bowl hopes.
Following the victory, head coach Kyle Shanahan said Samuel avoided any sort of break in his leg and believed that his injury was a high-ankle sprain. The extent of Samuel’s injury seems a unclear at this point, but whenever a player needs a golf cart to come and rescue them, the injury is likely bad.
Samuel is arguably one of the best players in the entire National Football League and is simply irreplaceable. Not only is he a great wide receiver, but he can also be deployed lethal running back. There are very few players in the NFL that can play two positions as well as Samuel. (RELATED: NFL Buzzkills Fine Alexander Mattison Over $6,000 For Viral Twerking (Humping?) Celebration)
Without Samuel or quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, I imagine the 49ers will suffer a quick exit from the postseason. Usually, the teams that go on to win the Super Bowl are the healthiest, and the 49ers are far from it.