Samuel Returns for 49ers Against Cowboys on Sunday

Deebo Samuel Sr. will play on Sunday, November 15, when the San Francisco 49ers visit the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Samuel isn't listed with a game designation on the 49ers' final injury report, released Friday, November 13, after their last practice of the week. He hasn't played since October 11, when he injured his hamstring in a win over the Seattle Seahawks, and he missed the three games that followed.

The week built the way returns are supposed to build. Samuel practiced on a limited basis on Wednesday and Thursday, then practiced in full on Friday. Head coach Kyle Shanahan's verdict, relayed by ESPN's Nick Wagoner, was short: Samuel had a good week and he's healthy, he's still getting back into it in his first week back, and he took care of himself well while he was injured. There's no snap-count promise in that, but there's no designation either, and designation is the part that's official.

His season to date is small and productive. Samuel has caught 16 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns in five games. This is his second stint in San Francisco: he spent a season in Washington, then signed back with the 49ers in August. At 30, he's expected to step straight back in as one of Brock Purdy's top targets, in a receiver room that needs him more than it did in September.

That's because the other name on the report is an absence. Mike Evans is out again, his third straight missed game with an Achilles injury. Evans hasn't played since October 19. So Sunday's passing game pairs a returning Samuel with a debut: Keenan Allen, acquired ahead of the November 10 trade deadline, completed his first week of practice with the team and is set to play his first game as a 49er in Dallas, alongside Demarcus Robinson and Jordan Watkins.

San Francisco went 2-1 without Samuel, beating Washington and Las Vegas and losing to Atlanta in between. The questionable list for Sunday is longer than the out list: left tackle Trent Williams is questionable with a shoulder injury, and linebacker Dre Greenlaw, defensive lineman C.J. West, and cornerbacks Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, and Nate Hobbs are also questionable. Final calls on those six come 90 minutes before kickoff.

The game Samuel returns for is the one that sorts the NFC's middle. It's a Week 10 meeting at AT&T Stadium between two teams playing for position in the back half of the season, and San Francisco plays it with its most versatile receiver back and its biggest one still out. After Dallas, the 49ers go to Mexico City to face the Minnesota Vikings on November 22. Samuel's hamstring gets its first real test before that trip, on Sunday, in the stadium where returns tend to get noticed.