News Article
Published
Oct 20, 2026 at 10:28 AM EDT
An unbeaten start hasn’t come cheap for the San Francisco 49ers, whose star receiver can’t shake an Achilles problem.
Wide receiver Mike Evans exited the 23-17 victory over the Washington Commanders late in the first half. Afterward, coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Evans is battling Achilles tendinitis, the issue that had kept him off the practice field leading into the Week 6 game.
Asked how worried he was, Shanahan pointed to the receiver’s history with the problem.
“It’s something that’s bothered him before, and something that has bothered him throughout the week,” Shanahan said. “When you have Achilles tendinitis like he does, it kind of is what it is. It flared up tonight. I hope he recovers throughout the week.”
The coach added that the team doesn’t view it as “a long-term thing” and said he didn’t believe Evans would require more scans on the tendon.
Evans hadn’t practiced all week, and Shanahan called the decision “a pretty close call.” Evans told him he’d handled the issue earlier in his NFL career.
“That was the confidence he gave me, but we knew he might not be able to last,” Shanahan said.
The forecast held up. Evans, who had 94 yards on three catches, went down after a 16-yard grab with 1:10 remaining before halftime and didn’t return.
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Without him, the offense sputtered. San Francisco was held to 72 yards and three points after the break and went three-and-out on three straight fourth-quarter drives.
Jordan Watkins, Brandin Cooks, Jacob Cowing and Malik Turner, the only healthy wideouts left, managed two receptions for 35 yards between them.
Linebacker Luke Gifford and cornerback Upton Stout also got banged up, with groin and shoulder injuries, respectively.
Shanahan hopes Evans can face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 7. If not, he said, “we’ll have to have the rest of the group step up.”
Receiver Christian Kirk, who has two practices under his belt, is “a possibility” for that game. Shanahan doesn’t expect fellow wideouts Demarcus Robinson or Deebo Samuel Sr. back before San Francisco’s Week 8 open date.