San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy understands wide receiver Deebo Samuel is nursing a shoulder injury, but he is hoping to have him back on the field in the NFC Championship Game.

While speaking about Samuel this week, Purdy raved about the wide out’s importance to the offense.

“Obviously, he’s probably the best playmaker in this league,” Purdy said, via the 49ers’ official team website. “You get the ball in his hands, he can do whatever he wants. He makes guys miss, breaks tackles, he’s strong, he’s tough, he’s got grit and we all feed off it. Deebo definitely gives us some juice and energy and momentum on our offense. If he’s not playing, obviously that’s tough on us, but we’ll have guys to be able to play as well that can create that as well. If you’re asking me, we’d love for Deebo to play.”

Samuel’s status is up in the air. He initially suffered the injury during San Francisco’s Divisional Round playoff win over the Green Bay Packers last weekend. While X-rays were negative, head coach Kyle Shanahan said that the star pass-catcher was in a lot of pain.

The 28-year-old still does not have full range of motion in his shoulder and will not play unless he does. Given the fact that the Niners’ matchup with the Detroit Lions is in two days, it’s not looking very likely that Samuel will take the field at the moment.

Samuel played in 15 games during the regular season, catching 60 passes for 892 yards and seven touchdowns. He also rushed for 225 yards and five scores.

While he was not the 49ers’ No. 1 weapon in the passing game, his versatility paid dividends for the offense, and if he is not able to suit up against the Lions, it will certainly hurt San Francisco quite a bit.

We’ll see if Deebo Samuel is healthy enough to play as the Niners fight for a Super Bowl berth on Sunday.

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