Deebo Samuel and running back Elijah Mitchell have both returned to the 49ers from their respective injuries and will likely play on Sunday against the Cardinals, in what will likely amount to a glorified tune-up for the playoff run.
Samuel has been out since Dec. 11, Brock Purdy’s breakout game against the Buccaneers, when Samuel was carted off the field after suffering what looked like a serious injury to his ankle and knee. The Niners later got the good news that Samuel’s injury was significantly milder than expected, leaving the possibility of a regular season return. Lynch sounded a bit more cautious about his return, but still said, “I expect him to be out there,” when asked specifically.
“Much like Elijah, he’s practiced both days this week — both days, Wednesday, Thursday in our work week,” Lynch said. “He’s looking good out there. … We’ve got to finish this week and make sure he responds well, but all indications are Deebo’s in a real good place.”
Mitchell has been on injured reserve since Dec. 3 with a knee injury. Kyle Shanahan said on another KNBR show Thursday that the running back “had a great week of practice … and I expect to play him a little bit here on Sunday.”
Lynch confirmed that Mitchell will play.
“The thing we’ve seen from Elijah in the past, he’s a natural runner, so he can shake rust off in a hurry,” Lynch said Friday. “There really is no rust with him. He can go in a game and produce at a high level. We’ve been doing a great job, our rehab folks, of getting him up to speed. His conditioning level is high.”
The general manager added that he’d be on “somewhat of a pitch count” against Arizona.
The 49ers aren’t the only NFC container getting offensive stars back. The Eagles, who are still a win short of clinching the NFC’s No. 1 seed (leaving the door cracked for the Niners), might have QB Jalen Hurts back as he’s reported “trending in the right direction” to play the New York Giants. Unfortunately for the 49ers and their fans, that Giants team is probably holding out key players on Sunday, with nothing to play for. (Head coach Brian Daboll is still being coy.)
Regardless of what the Eagles or Giants do, the 49ers still have to beat the Cardinals to remain in contention for the top seed in the NFC. Getting Samuel and Mitchell back for Sunday will certainly help with that. And even if the Eagles win, the 49ers need to win to hold on to the No. 2 seed if the Vikings beat the Bears on Sunday. The latter seems a lot more likely given that Chicago is starting Nathan Peterman, and the Bears might not be too keen on winning with the first pick in the 2023 draft in play. The Vikings are expected to have their starters out on the field.
Whether that fall in conference seeding is possible will be clear ahead of the Niners game, as the Vikings and Bears play at 10 am on Sunday. The race for the one seed will happen simultaneously, with the Eagles-Giants and Niners-Cardinals games happening at 1:25 pm