49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel was a full practice participant on Wednesday, which would seem to be a good sign for the chances that he will be back in the lineup for the first time since suffering ankle and MCL sprains in Week 14.
Samuel doesn’t sound so sure that this week is going to be the one where he’s back, however. Samuel said he thought his season was over when he was initially injured and that he wants to be sure that he’s fully recovered before stepping back into the lineup.
“Not necessarily trying to push,” Samuel said, via 49ersWebzone.com. “I’m not going to risk myself. If I’m not 100 percent ready to go, I’m not going to go out there.”
The 49ers could still wind up with the No. 1, No. 2 or No.3 seed in the NFC depending on this weekend’s results, so there are stakes to their results in the final weekend of the regular season. They’ll be playing in the postseason regardless of those results, however, and they’ll want Samuel to be in top shape for that game and that will likely be the guide to any decision about his availability against the Cardinals.