49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice

The San Francisco 49ers’ cleared George Kittle and Deebo Samuel to return to practice.

The San Francisco 49ers have suffered perhaps more injuries in 2020 than any other NFL team — and that’s saying a lot. But on Wednesday, the team finally received some good news regarding two of their most notable injured players — George Kittle and Deebo Samuel.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke to reporters ahead of Wednesday’s practice to provide updates on a variety of injuries. And he insisted that both Kittle and Samuel had been cleared to return to practice after being sidelined for the past few weeks.

In regards to Samuel, the 49ers officially activated him off the injured reserve meaning that he should be ready to make his season debut this upcoming Sunday when the team takes on the Philadelphia Eagles.

After a very promising rookie campaign, the 49ers hoped that Samuel would return in 2020 and perhaps continue to develop into a true No. 1 receiver. Given the state of the team’s receiving corps, that was the role he was being asked to fill.

Unfortunately, while training in the summer prior to training camp, Samuel suffered a Jones fracture in his foot and was sidelined for a few months. The 49ers placed him on IR prior to Week 1 and that’s where he’s been ever since.

Thankfully, Samuel is on track to make his return to the gridiron this Sunday.

The 49ers will also welcome back tight end George Kittle this week.

The same goes for Kittle who has been out of action since Week 1 after injuring his knee on a high pass from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo — who also remains sidelined with an injury of his own.

Kittle avoided an IR stint and will return after missing just two weeks. And if it were up to him, he likely would have returned even sooner.

With the injury suffered by Jordan Reed that could keep him out of action for up to two months, the 49ers will surely welcome the return of their star tight end. Expect to see more of backup tight end Ross Dwelley even with Kittle expected to return.

Given how well the 49ers’ offense has looked without them, it’s scary to think how effective they may be upon their returns.