The San Francisco 49ers got another injury scare involving wide receiver Mike Evans on Tuesday, August 18, when the veteran left the team’s joint practice with the Los Angeles Chargers early.
Evans initially had his left foot or ankle wrapped in ice, according to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner, before later being seen with an ice pack around his quadriceps. Kyle Shanahan said after practice that Evans was dealing with “tightness” and indicated the 49ers were exercising caution rather than responding to a significant new injury.
“They just said he has some tightness, so we were just being smart, taking him out,” Shanahan said. “I don’t think it’s anything worse, so we’ll see when we get in there, but nothing that I’m worried about right now.”
That reassurance is significant. So is the timing.
Evans strained his quadriceps during an August 1 practice and did not return until August 15. His latest early exit came just three days after getting back on the field, giving San Francisco reason to be cautious with one of its most important offensive players even if Shanahan does not believe the setback is serious.
Mike Evans’ Quad Injury Bears Watching for 49ers
The 49ers had already spent roughly two weeks without Evans before his return.
San Francisco’s own training camp updates listed Evans as out with a quad injury as recently as August 8. Tuesday’s development therefore becomes less about one missed portion of practice and more about whether the same muscle issue could linger as the regular season gets closer.
There is no indication yet that Evans suffered another strain. Shanahan’s comments pointed in the opposite direction, and Matt Barrows of The Athletic reported that the coach described the issue simply as “tightness.”
Still, there is little incentive for San Francisco to push Evans through an August practice if the veteran is experiencing discomfort.
The 49ers are scheduled to face the Chargers at SoFi Stadium on Thursday, August 20, in their second preseason game. Evans’ availability for that game now becomes something to monitor, particularly given how recently he returned to practice.
Whether he participates in a preseason game is ultimately less important than avoiding a setback that costs him additional preparation time.
Christian Kirk Injury Adds to 49ers’ WR Questions
Evans is not the only San Francisco receiver whose training camp has been disrupted.
Christian Kirk remains sidelined after straining his calf during the first practice of camp. The injury has been especially frustrating because, according to Shanahan, Kirk dealt with the same issue during organized team activities.
“That’s been unfortunate for him because he had the same thing in OTAs, so he missed that,” Shanahan said. “And he hasn’t been ready to go. He did it the first practice, before we even got to team periods, so I know he’s been extremely frustrated with it.”
The 49ers’ official camp reports continued to list Kirk as sidelined with the calf injury during practices on August 11 and August 16.
That makes Evans’ status more important than it would be in isolation.
Training camp is when quarterbacks and receivers build timing in Shanahan’s offense, and two veteran receivers have already lost substantial practice work because of soft-tissue injuries. Even if Evans avoided another significant problem Tuesday, the 49ers would benefit from getting both receivers healthy enough to string together practices before the games begin to count.
For now, Shanahan’s assessment offers reason for optimism on Evans. The next test is whether Tuesday’s tightness proves to be a brief interruption or another obstacle in what has already been a stop-and-start training camp for San Francisco’s receiving corps.
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