Inside: Top receivers Aiyuk, Samuel finally back together again.
The two receivers are back together for the first time since Oct. 25
Statistically, George Kittle remains the 49ers’ leading receiver, even though he’s missed five of the 49ers’ 11 games this season, including the past three.
That should change after tonight’s game.
The 49ers expect wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel together in the lineup for the first time since an Oct. 25 rout of the New England Patriots.
“Last time we were on the field together, we put good things on tape,” Aiyuk said. “This whole receiver group, we’re getting our guys back and trying to establish that rhythm and go on this run.”
Aiyuk came off the NFL’s COVID-19 reserve list Wednesday, along with defensive linemen D. J. Jones and Jordan Willis, all in time for the 49ers’ flight to Arizona, where they’ll be embedded for at least the next two games and more likely four of their final five after Santa Clara County’s contact-sports ban under COVID-19 directives.
Shanahan is excited to see what that Aiyuk- Samuel pairing can do against another AFC East foe, the Buffalo Bills (8- 3). The playoff- chasing 49ers (5- 6) will host the Bills tonight at State Farm Stadium, the 49ers’ makeshift home
“Just the more these guys can play together, the more they can get out there, they’re made of the right stuff, they’re built the right way, and they’ll only get better,” Shanahan said.
“I just want to get them going.” Samuel’s bullish presence with the ball in his hands, when combined with Aiyuk’s gracefulness as a multidimensional receiver, make for the 49ers’ best offensive weapons, especially with their
usually reliable run game sputtering this season amid injuries.
Kittle would be that offensive workhorse if not for injuries this season, including a knee sprain that kept him out Weeks 2 and 3 before a foot fracture sidelined him the past three games (and counting, until at least probably Week 16).
Aiyuk has missed two of the past three games on the COVID-19 reserve list, but the firstround draft pick has shown great potential and come through with 35 receptions (56 targets) for 446 yards and three touchdowns.
Samuel opened the season on injured reserve because of a June foot fracture, then came a fourgame spree in which he showed the play-making potential that
helped the 49ers reach the Super Bowl his rookie season. The 49ers are 15-5 when he’s played.
A hamstring injury late at New England shelved Samuel until his bruising return last week against the Rams ( 11 receptions, 133 yards). Samuel’s ability to break tackles and rack up yards after the catch fired up his teammates and set the tone against the favored Rams.
“That’s what we were hoping for when we took him,” Shanahan said. “We wanted that physicality and stuff in him. We thought we needed that, and he’s brought that a ton. And that’s why when he’s out there, no matter where he’s at, he always helps us.”
Samuel credited the 49ers’ training staff for putting him
through game- like situations ahead of Sunday’s grand return, adding: “It also felt great to be out there with teammates to get the ‘ W.’”
Shanahan’s trust in Samuel is essential, as well.
“It all starts from trust, how I am with the ball and what Kyle trusts me to go out there and do that,” Samuel added.
Samuel has missed seven games, and the 49ers don’t have enough healthy weapons to compensate for his, Aiyuk and so many other players’ absences.
“Every time Deebo gets going, we’ve had a little bit of a setback,” Shanahan said, “but you guys see how much he helps us, and how much he has every time he’s been in, and it’s a lot more fun to have
him out there.”
Aiyuk has not been available to reporters since going on the COVID-19 list a second time; his initial stay was for being a close contact after Kendrick Bourne’s positive test before the Packers’ game.
Aiyuk tested positive himself two weeks ago, and he’s now “fresh” physically and mentally, he said. Aiyuk had seven catches for 75 yards and scored his fifth career touchdown in his last game, a Nov. 15 loss at New Orleans.
One extra element working in the 49ers’ offense’s favor, amid this month’s relocation from Santa Clara, is what State Farm Stadium’s natural-grass field offers. “It feels fast. I’ve always liked that,” Shanahan said.