San Francisco 49ers superstar wide receiver Deebo Samuel was questionable during the week for Sunday night’s game against the Detroit Lions with a shoulder injury. Samuel ended up playing and did not appear to be limited by the injury, but that didn’t stop one Detroit Lions player from appearing to target the shoulder in an apparent attempt to injure the Niners star.
During Sunday night’s NFC Championship game showdown, Detroit Lions safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson threw a blindside block right at the left shoulder of Deebo Samuel – the shoulder that Samuel had injured previously. Obviously, there’s no way to prove whether or not the hit was an intentional attempt to injure Samuel, but Samuel offered his reaction to the hit this week.
“You gotta get me when I’m not looking. That’s the only way you’re gonna get me,” Samuel said according to San Francisco 49ers beat writer Matt Barrows of The Athletic.
Deebo Samuel when asked about this blind-side block from C.J. Gardner-Johnson, which was to his injured shoulder:
“You gotta get me when I’m not looking. That’s the only way you’re gonna get me” pic.twitter.com/JenP4SkWAJ
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) January 29, 2024
Obviously, the hit didn’t cause many issues for Samuel as he finished the game with eight catches for 89 yards to help lead his team to a comeback victory.
Samuel will now have nearly two weeks to heal up and make sure he is ready to go for a Super Bowl matchup with the San Francisco 49ers.