Mike Evans’ Achilles Injury May Not Be That Severe

Coming into Monday’s game against the Washington Commanders, the San Francisco 49ers had a depleted wide receiver room due to injuries. They only had Mike Evans, Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing, Brandin Cooks and Malik Turner, who was just elevated from their practice squad, available to play at the position as they looked to stay undefeated.

They did improve to 6-0 with a 23-17 victory, but they lost Evans just before halftime when he left the field just after making a 16-yard catch. He was seen reaching for his Achilles right after the reception, and he was ruled out for the rest of the game.

Evans was already dealing with an Achilles ailment, as well as a rib injury, before the game. The fan base is worried, especially since Evans is the team’s biggest wide receiver threat and Achilles injuries are always scary. But there may not be any real reason for members of the Niners Faithful to worry.

Initial updates seem optimistic

Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday night that Evans’ injured Achilles tendon is intact and that while he “will miss a little time,” he could potentially return after the Niners’ bye in Week 8 “if all things stay according to plan.”

When head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked after the game if Evans will need further testing to determine the extent of the injury, he said, “I don’t believe so,” per Nick Wagoner of ESPN.

“It’s something that he’s had before,” Shanahan said. “It’s something that bothered him throughout the week. When you have Achilles tendinitis like he does, it kind of is what it is. … I hope he recovers throughout the week, but you don’t think it’s a long-term thing, but right now it ended up costing him two quarters and hopefully he’ll be able to play next week, but if not, we’ll have to have the rest of the group step up and hopefully get him healed up by after the bye week.”

If Evans’ Achilles injury is as minor as Shanahan seems to think it is, it likely shouldn’t be something to worry about. The problem is, the Niners are so short-handed at wide receiver that not having him for even one game could cause serious problems.

On Monday, they executed their offense to near-perfection in the first half and held a 20-3 lead at halftime. But without Evans in the second half, San Francisco had to settle for a field goal on its first possession of the third quarter, and on its remaining three drives of the half, it went three and out each time.

With Christian Kirk, Demarcus Robinson, Deebo Samuel Sr. and standout rookie De’Zhaun Stribling all out due to injury, Evans was the team’s only threat at wideout on Monday. He had 94 yards on just three catches before exiting.

The hope is that Kirk, who has been dealing with a calf injury since late July, will return this coming Sunday when the Niners visit the Atlanta Falcons, after he returned to practice last week. Robinson, according to Wagoner, could have his practice window opened this week, but Shanahan expressed doubt that he would be able to play this Sunday.