Mike Evans is officially in wait-and-see territory for the 49ers.
After Evans couldn’t finish San Francisco’s 23-17 home win over the Washington Commanders on Monday night, head coach Kyle Shanahan said the wideout has been dealing with Achilles tendonitis and still could be in the mix for Sunday’s game at the 2-4 Atlanta Falcons. On Thursday, general manager John Lynch avoided slamming the door on Evans for the trip to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“I think it's still TBD,” Lynch said about Evans' status for the Week 7 clash, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. “We've got a couple of more days.
We're going to take every bit of those to try to ascertain where Mike's at. He's done a really good job treating this thing, and obviously, we know of Mike's toughness.”
The 49ers will go into a bye after facing Atlanta, which is why there’s been talk that Evans could sit this one out and aim for San Francisco’s Week 9 home game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 8. DraftKings Sportsbook had San Francisco as a 2.5-point road favorite over the Falcons as of Thursday afternoon.
Evans’ absence after halftime was felt in the Washington game. ESPN’s Nick Wagoner noted that the 49ers had three straight three-and-outs in the fourth quarter and managed only three points after the break once Evans was ruled out. Before leaving, Evans had already put together three catches for 94 yards against the Commanders.
“We'll let these next couple of days play out and make a decision when we have to,” Lynch said. “Mike's that type of player that you wait, you let the process play itself out, and we'll see where we're at at the end of the week.”
For now, the bigger picture is just how much Evans has already meant to the 2026 49ers. ESPN stats show he leads the team with 39 targets and 420 receiving yards, while ranking second with 27 receptions and tying for second with three touchdown catches.
Lynch also downplayed the issue as something the team is trying to manage rather than something more alarming.
“Not fun - just kind of nagging,” Lynch added about Evans' Achilles tendonitis. “And so, we're doing our best to kind of alleviate that from Mike so he can go play the fantastic football he has.”
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