Mike Evans (file photo). (Image: Keith Allison / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 2.0)
The San Francisco 49ers stayed perfect with a 23-17 Monday night win over the Washington Commanders — but lost star receiver Mike Evans to an Achilles injury in the process.
Evans went down late in the second quarter. With 1:10 left in the half, he hauled in a 16-yard pass from quarterback Brock Purdy, and after being brought down by Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves, he stayed on the turf grabbing at his Achilles. He tried to stretch out his lower leg in the tunnel before team medical staff helped him to the locker room. He did not return for the second half and was ruled out early in the third quarter.
Evans finished with three catches for 94 yards, including a 54-yard reception in the game's opening minutes. He entered the night as the 49ers' leading receiver this season.
The injury was, in one sense, no surprise. Evans did not practice all week while managing Achilles soreness and broken ribs, and he carried a questionable tag into the game. "It's the same thing that was bothering him all week," head coach Kyle Shanahan said afterward. "Just was acting up too much in the game so he couldn't go. We'll see how he feels this week."
Shanahan added that he does not believe Evans will need additional testing and does not expect a long-term absence. That optimism was echoed by NBC Sports Bay Area's Jennifer Lee Chan, who reported that Evans did not tear his Achilles and could return after the team's Week 8 bye, barring setbacks.
It is the latest setback in an injury-plagued first season in the Bay Area for the 33-year-old, who joined San Francisco in free agency after 12 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He dealt with a hip injury in Week 2 and a rib strain in Week 3, though he had played in every game until Monday.
The 49ers are already thin at receiver, with Deebo Samuel, Ricky Pearsall, Demarcus Robinson, and Christian Kirk among those sidelined — though Kirk could return as soon as next week. "Obviously having him out there, he's a Hall of Famer," Purdy told ESPN of Evans. "But I thought our guys stepped up."
San Francisco (6-0) plays at Atlanta on Sunday before its Week 8 bye — a schedule that may allow the team to rest Evans without rushing him back.