Team news: Washington Commanders | Page 59

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan says Deebo Samuel “looks real good” running routes, and is optimistic he’ll be activated from IR next week, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic. He stopped short of saying Samuel will play vs. Eagles. That will be decided late next week.

Great news for the 49ers and those rostering Samuel. The goal has been for Samuel to be activated after three weeks, and that timetable clearly has not changed. Despite the carnage that is the San Fran injury report, next week could bring the return of Samuel, Jimmy Garoppolo, and George Kittle to the offense.

Blake Bortles is signing a one-year deal with the Denver Broncos this week, per source. Should be finalized this week.

Related players: Jeff Driskel

Bortles will provide at least a veteran backup option to Driskel, who is still expected to start Week 3.

Wide receiver Courtland Sutton suffered a torn ACL in Sunday's 26-21 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and will miss the remainder of the season. Sutton had missed the season opener with a right shoulder injury suffered Sept. 8 in practice and had been limited in practice in the days leading up to Sunday's game.

Additionally, Broncos quarterback Drew Lock will miss 3 to 5 weeks with a severe strain of the rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder, an injury he suffered in the first quarter Sunday.

Related players: Jerry Jeudy, Jeff Driskel, K.J. Hamler, Tim Patrick, DaeSean Hamilton

Sutton missed Week 1 with a shoulder injury and the news wasn't looking good after he suffered a knee injury in Week 2. That news was confirmed today as Sutton will now miss the remainder of the season. Meanwhile, QB Lock will miss 3-5 weeks with Driskel taking over in that time. With Sutton out, Jeudy, Hamler, Patrick and Hamilton take over. They are certainly talented names, but will take a bit of a hit with Driskel at QB. Perhaps RB Melvin Gordon sees and increase in workload.

Broncos’ QB Drew Lock suffered a severe rotator cuff strain and will be sidelined at least two weeks before his injury is re-evaluated again, per source.

Related players: Jeff Driskell

Driskell now slated to be Denver’s starting QB on Sunday vs. Tampa. The team will also be without Courtland Sutton at wide receiver, leaving perhaps a heavy workload for RB Melvin Gordon, but against a good Bucs defense.

The Denver Broncos are experiencing some trouble this Sunday in their matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, as quarterback Drew Lock returned to the locker room after sustaining a right shoulder injury. Shortly after, the team ruled him out for the remainder of the game.

Related players: Jeff Driskel

Lock immediately headed to the locker room after sustaining the injury, and was replaced by Driskel. Driskel started against the Steelers as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17 of the 2018 season, and spent the 2019 season with the Detroit Lions.

Anthony Lynn said it's still a priority to get Austin Ekeler touches moving forward.

The tweet added that Lynn said the new scheme — primarily the increased QB and pocket movement — will limit check downs to RBs, including Ekeler, who only had one target Sunday. Ekeler did get 19 carries for 84 yards but a big part of Ekeler's fantasy value is his threat in the passing game.

The end-of-game sequence was symbolic of an outing in which Jimmy Garoppolo seldom threw to his wide receivers and often was a tick off when he did. Three plays before the final incompletion to Trent Taylor, Garoppolo saw Kendrick Bourne all alone in the right corner of the end zone. His throw had too much loft, however, allowing cornerback Patrick Peterson to recover and break up the play.

Bourne and Taylor combined for four catches for 41 yards and were the only 49ers wideouts to catch a pass. The team’s would-be starters, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, were ruled out with injuries, and Samuel won’t be back until October at the earliest after going on injured reserve on Saturday.

The 9ers mainly targeted tight ends and running backs the story said. The story also added Aiyuk, who is recovering from a hamstring strain, was close to playing against the Cardinals.