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49ers new WR2 after Deebo Samuel injury revealed to be 13-year NFL veteran
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- 49ers new WR2 after Deebo Samuel injury revealed to be 13-year NFL veteran
49ers new WR2 after Deebo Samuel injury revealed to be 13-year NFL veteran originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The San Francisco 49ers wide receiver room is about as banged up as any position group is across the NFL this season.
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Over five weeks, the 49ers have lost Ricky Pearsall, De'Zhuan Stribling, Christian Kirk, Demarcus Robinson, and now Deebo Samuel to injury issues for varying amounts of time. With Mike Evans as the No. 1 option, who will be the new No. 2?
According to The Athletic's Matt Barrows , the 49ers are most likely to go with 13-year NFL veteran Brandin Cooks as the team's new WR2 moving forward, so long as no other player comes back from injury.
49ers' new WR2 after Deebo Samuel injury revealed to be Brandin Cooks
"Shanahan said Samuel suffered a significant hamstring strain in the third quarter and will miss 'some time.' That points to a bigger role for Cooks, who played nearly every snap after Samuel exited and had an impressive, sliding touchdown catch to reclaim the lead in the fourth quarter," Barrows writes.
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Evans is the clear No. 1 target for Brock Purdy in the wide receiver room ahead of their Monday Night Football matchup against the Washington Commanders in Week 6.
But behind Evans, it's a bit of an unknown. Cooks appears to be the new No. 2, with Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins seemingly behind Cooks in the pecking order.
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As Barrows noted, Watkins only played when "Evans went on the sideline," while Cowing "served as the team's No. 3 receiver" when he came back from his ankle injury in the third quarter.
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With Cowing likely good to go for Week 6, the 49ers could turn to him, Cooks, or Watkins as the new No. 2 WR. Barrow's update makes it clear that Cooks is first in line for that role.
It's not going to be a long-term solution for the 49ers. But while Samuel is out, Cooks, the 13-year NFL veteran, sitting at 9,818 receiving yards in his NFL career and on his seventh NFL franchise, is set to be the 49ers' new No. 2 WR.
