49ers avoided disaster with Deebo Samuel and Brock Purdy

49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel officially suffered MCL and ankle sprains during Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers, and is expected to return during the regular season at some point, according to the team.

This update is considered a best case scenario for Samuel given how things looked when he went down during San Francisco’s 35-7 victory.

The receiver had to be taken off the field in a cart after he was tackled during a run up the middle. While he was brought down to the ground, his body contorted in a way that twisted his leg and left him on the grass in pain for some time. He tried to walk off under his own power, but eventually needed a cart.

Samuel’s injury was initially ruled a knee injury, then called an ankle injury, with even the team’s website writing that he “is thought to be dealing with a high ankle sprain.”

The recovery time for that injury would be four to six weeks, but this latest news obviously means a significantly shorter recovery time. There are four games remaining in the regular season, starting with Thursday’s matchup against the Seahawks.

Though the Niners have shown that they are capable of playing well even with Samuel missing, as evidenced by the second game against the Rams and the second half against the Bucs, having the former All-Pro in the lineup is better than not having him, especially when

punch the Giants have had the past two seasons, pairing Webb with Kevin Gausman in 2021 and Rodón in 2022, it is a deep and formidable group — and built with less risk, in the way Zaidi prefers, without handing out a long-term, high-dollar contract to one pitcher. Its highest-paid members (Wood, Manaea, Stripling) will each make $12.5 million, and its total cost (including projected arbitration figures for Webb and Junis) comes to about $67 million.

Rodón is said to be seeking a seven-year deal with an average annual value of $30 million and has reportedly drawn interest from the Yankees, Mets, Rangers and Cardinals. A reunion in San Francisco is looking increasingly unlikely without the Giants shipping out a starter in a trade, which isn’t out of the realm of possibility given the below-market salaries many are making.