The San Francisco 49ers can breathe a sigh of relief knowing Mike Evans' injury status.
Evans played in his third consecutive game while dealing with injuries, but in the Week 6 matchup against the Washington Commanders, he was also battling Achilles soreness on top of his broken ribs.
He made three catches for 94 yards before limping off in the first half. San Francisco was up 23-3 before the threat of almost losing the game. He was so influential that the 49ers nearly picked up their first loss of the season.
Unlike when George Kittle tore his Achilles, it was evident in that matchup when he went down and was carted off. Evans walked back to the locker room after receiving a questionable-to-return designation, then was ruled out.
That looked somewhat positive, given how nasty and gruesome Achilles injuries are. Head coach Kyle Shanahan provided positive news on Evans after the 23-17 victory.
"It's something that he's had before," Shanahan said. "It's something that bothered him throughout the week. So, when you have Achilles tendonitis like he does, it kind of is what it is. It flared up tonight, and I hope he recovers throughout the week, but you don't think it's a long-term thing.
"But right now, it almost cost him this game and ended up costing him two quarters. 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."
It's a short turnaround on the schedule with the 49ers traveling east to face the Atlanta Falcons, Raheem Morris' former employer.
Shanahan expressed that Evans' judgement on his injury will give an indication on whether he features for Week 7, just before the bye week.
"I mean, if he can play, Mike's got a lot of experience on doing this stuff. Mike's pretty honest with us, too, and my life experience is with him over six games. If he says he's ready to go, I believe him," said Shanahan.
It's the best news possible that Evans' injury isn't worse. He's made an exceptional impact since joining, plus the 49ers are thin at wide reciever.
It would make sense for Evans to miss the Falcons matchup and then assess how he is after the bye week. But his importance these last few weeks shows he can play well despite being injured.
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