The San Francisco 49ers signed Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans during the offseason to be their No. 1 wide receiver.
Evans, who began his career with 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons, had that streak snapped last year when he missed nine games with a hamstring strain and fractured shoulder.
So, it’s easy to understand the trepidation from 49ers’ fans about Evans staying healthy for a full season, especially given the team’s alarming number of mounting injuries and the substation conspiracy theory that’s followed the team for the last few years.
Through the first three games of this year, Evans has suffered two injuries and left two games early because of it. In Sunday’s 36-30 win over the Arizona Cardinals, Evans left with a rib injury and didn’t return.
Kyle Shanahan Addresses Mike Evans’ Injury Status
Given Evans’ age (he just turned 33) and his injury history, many have expressed concern with Evans’ ability to avoid injury this year. Him exiting the game early twice in the last two weeks also doesn’t help dissuade those fears.
After Sunday’s win, head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed whether or not the team expected Evans to miss any time.
“We don’t know yet [if he’ll miss a couple of weeks],” Shanahan told reporters. “We couldn’t tell if it was a broken rib, we couldn’t tell if it was an oblique. It’s something we’ll probably find out more tomorrow.”
Shanahan also admitted that losing a player the caliber of Evans really affects the team’s offensive game plan.
“When you lose guys, especially guys like Mike, it changes stuff on your call sheet, changes wristbands, things like that,” Shanahan continued. “You don’t have time to think about anything else. So when guys go down, you hope they return, but you adjust and wait until they’re back, and if they don’t [return], you keep it moving.”
49ers Can’t Afford to Lose Mike Evans
If Evans does miss any significant time, it’ll put a big strain on the remaining healthy 49ers receivers — a group that now includes just Deebo Samuel, Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing, and KhaDarel Hodge.
While Samuel is a fairly reliable option, he’s not the WR1 he used to be, and he’s better used lining up as a running back or as a gadget player on trick plays. Watkins, Cowing, and Hodge are all unproven, but Shanahan seemed optimistic on Watkins potential y playing a larger role in the offense.
“Losing some of those receivers — and losing Mike in the game — between walk-ins and Cowing and Hodge…all those guys worked their butts off all week. I was really pumped for Watkins. That was such a big seam route that he ran on third down, and he almost looked like he was going to break those tackles and score. I thought he looked real impressive on it. And at the end of the second quarter, he was the reason we got three points there on that 59-yard field goal right before the half.”
49ers’ Kyle Shanahan Drops Concerning Mike Evans Injury Update After Cardinals Win