No fracture for Niners’ Samuel, availability uncertain
The San Francisco 49ers received good news on Deebo Samuel’s shoulder injury Monday, though the team is not yet sure of the star wide receiver’s availability for Sunday’s NFC championship game.
Kyle Shanahan said tests showed no broken bones from the injury suffered early in the 49ers’ 24-21 divisional playoff win over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday, but the coach said Samuel is still in pain.
The Niners will have a better idea on Wednesday about his availability for the game.
Samuel appeared to get hurt on the first drive of the game for the 49ers when he was tackled after a 9-yard gain. He was initially checked for a head injury but was able to return.
However he left the game soon after that with the shoulder injury and was out of uniform at the start of the second half.
Samuel gained 1,117 yards from scrimmage with 12 TDs in the regular season. He had two catches for 24 yards on Saturday. BROWNS: Joe Flacco’s short, surprising stint with the Browns could lead to a second season in Cleveland — maybe as Deshaun Watson’s backup.
General manager Andrew Berry said Monday that he would “absolutely love” to re-sign the 39-year-old Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and helped the Browns make the playoffs after Watson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.
Berry noted there could be financial limitations that prevent Flacco from returning, but said he’s open to the possibility.
“He played winning football for us,” Berry at his season-ending news conference. “I want to bring all of our good players back, but there are constraints to that. I’m really kind of both sides of the aisle but would have no problem having Joe back.”
Flacco hasn’t decided if he wants to continue playing or if he would settle for being a team’s No. 2 QB. The former Super Bowl MVP was signed by the Browns out of desperation in November and resurrected his career by throwing for more than 300 yards in each of his last five games.
It’s also possible Flacco could get a better offer elsewhere.
PANTHERS: The Carolina Panthers promoted Dan Morgan to president of football operations and general manager on Monday, handing the task of turning around the struggling franchise to a former star linebacker with the team.
Morgan, who has spent the past three seasons as the Panthers’ assistant GM, will oversee the personnel operation, the team announced.
The Panthers are 31-68 since David Tepper bought the team in 2018, tied with the New York Jets for the worst record in the league. They have not been to the postseason since 2017 and have been criticized for poor trades and draft picks in recent years.
Morgan replaces Scott Fitterer, who was fired this month after the Panthers went 2-15 with No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young at quarterback.