Josh Gordon may be option for 49ers with Deebo Samuel possibly missing start of season

It had largely been a quiet NFL offseason in terms of injuries to key players, perhaps because they weren't able to work out at team facilities. That has changed this week. On Monday, it was revealed that Eagles three-time Pro Bowl guard Brandon Brooks tore his Achilles' tendon and would miss the season. Then on Thursday, the 49ers announced that top wideout Deebo Samuel underwent surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his left foot.

A Jones fracture is a very tricky injury. Those happen in a small area of the fifth metatarsal, an area that receives less blood and is thus more prone to difficulties in healing. The fifth metatarsal is the long bone on the outside of the foot that connects to the pinkie toe. It can be very, very easy to break it again.

Rehab time for surgery on a Jones fracture can vary wildly – it could be anywhere from 8-16 weeks. Another Niners receiver, Trent Taylor, suffered one last offseason, had multiple setbacks and missed the 2019 season.

So, Samuel (57 catches, 802 yards, 3 TDs as a rookie) could be ready for the start of the 2020 season if it does begin on time, or he could land on the PUP list and miss the first six weeks. Or he could have setbacks and miss even longer.

Prior to the injury, the SportsLine Projection Model gave the 49ers a 74 percent chance to beat visiting Arizona in Week 1 and a 57 percent chance to cover the 7.5-point spread. Without Samuel, the 49ers' win percentage drops to 70 and cover percentage to 54. The Model slightly lowered San Francisco's season win total from 10.8 to 10.4 (see below).

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San Francisco obviously has Super Bowl aspirations, having blowing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead to Kansas City and losing Super Bowl 54 this past February. The Niners are +325 favorites on the moneyline odds at William Hill sportsbook to repeat as NFC champions and +700 third-favorites behind Kansas City and Baltimore to win Super Bowl 55.

It's more important than ever to earn the top seed in a conference this season with the additional playoff team added – now, just the top seed gets a first-round bye. Point being: Every single win counts.

The 49ers already were a bit thin at wideout as it was after losing Emmanuel Sanders in free agency and trading Marquise Goodwin to Philadelphia. Kendrick Bourne, Jalen Hurd and first-round rookie Brandon Aiyuk should become primary receiving options. (Well, primary wideout options. The Niners have the NFL's best receiving tight end in George Kittle.)

That's not an overly impressive receiver group. Bourne had 30 catches for 358 yards and five scores last year, while Hurd missed his 2019 rookie season with a back injury. Could the team look into free-agent receiver Josh Gordon? He officially applied for reinstatement to the NFL on Wednesday. Gordon split time with the Patriots and Seahawks last year before being suspended for the sixth time since 2013.

In December 2018, 49ers GM John Lynch talked to the Browns about a possible trade for Gordon, but Cleveland eventually shipped him to New England. Gordon would be a potential low-risk, high-reward signing simply as insurance. He is super-talented but simply has substance abuse issues.

Other free-agent receivers include Demaryius Thomas, Taylor Gabriel, Jordan Matthews, Tavon Austin and, yes, Antonio Brown, but reports out of the Bay Area are that Niners have zero interest in Brown.

Which teams sail past their projected win totals? What is the SportsLine model's stunning Packers prediction? And how many wins will every NFL team have this season? ... See every projected win total, including the shocking prediction for the Packers, all from an uncanny computer model that crushed its NFL win total picks last year!