The same Achilles injury that kept San Francisco wide receiver Mike Evans from practicing in the week leading up to the 49ers’ Monday night game against the Washington Commanders knocked the veteran out of the contest late in the second quarter.
Evans, who had been listed as questionable to play at all, was first listed as questionable to return to action in the contest at Santa Clara, Calif.
In the end, he didn’t see another snap as the 49ers held on for a 23-17 victory.
San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan was unsure postgame if Evans would be ready to return Sunday when the 49ers (6-0) play at Atlanta. That contest will be San Francisco’s last ahead of a bye week.
Shanahan said, “It’s something that he’s had before. 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.”
Evans caught a 16-yard pass for a first down and wasn’t touched by a defender until he was on the turf after making the grab. He pointed to his right leg, then was helped to his feet and walked slowly off the field to the locker room.
According to Shanahan, the team knew there was a chance he wouldn’t go from beginning to end against the Commanders.
“It was a pretty close call in terms of that he wasn’t able to go all week, but just talking to Mike, just something he has dealt with in the past in his career and he felt confident to be good today,” Shanahan said. “That was the confidence he gave me, but we knew he might not be able to last.”
Evans wound up with three catches for a team-high 94 yards on the night, bringing his totals in his first season for San Francisco to 27 receptions for a team-best 420 yards and three touchdowns.
If Evans isn’t available for the Atlanta game, it would be another blow to a banged-up 49ers receiving corps. San Francisco receivers Christian Kirk, Demarcus Robinson, De’Zhaun Stribling and Ricky Pearsall are on injured reserve, and Deebo Samuel Sr. was unavailable on Monday.
The 33-year-old veteran played his previous 12 NFL seasons for Tampa Bay, which drafted him seventh overall out of Texas A&M in 2014. He helped the Buccaneers win the Super Bowl after the 2020 season.
Evans signed a three-year, $42.4 million deal with the 49ers in March.