Most of the San Francisco 49ers' news leading up to their Week 3 home showdown against the 1-1 Arizona Cardinals wasn't particularly good.
Highlighting the bad news was the report defensive end Nick Bosa suffered a calf injury in practice warmups on Wednesday, and the subsequent news was he'd miss several weeks while he recovers.
Additionally, veteran wide receiver Mike Evans was pulled out of Week 2's victory over the Miami Dolphins with a hip setback. And while he practiced on Friday, there were doubts he'd be available against the Red Birds as the Niners aimed to go 3-0 on the young season.
As thin as the wide receiver depth chart is for San Francisco right now, the prospects for being without Evans were worrisome.
Thankfully, the future Hall of Fame receiver should be good to go for Sunday's tilt against Arizona.
49ers Week 3 actives vs. Cardinals: Mike Evans will play
Indeed, Bosa was listed on the 49ers' Week 3 inactive list:
- DE Nick Bosa
- CB Ephesians Prysock
- LB Tatum Bethune
- OL Enrique Cruz Jr.
- DL Romello Height
Height, too, suffered a broken hand in Week 2 and underwent surgery. There was a small hope he'd be able to play against Arizona, using some sort of club. But head coach Kyle Shanahan declared the rookie out for Sunday's showdown.
Fortunately, Evans was listed as questionable, and the fact he wasn't listed with the inactives suggests he'll be ready to go atop the Niners' receiving depth chart.
Both Evans and Deebo Samuel have to carry a hefty amount of the load, particularly with fellow receivers De'Zhaun Stribling (ankle) and Demarcus Robinson (ankle) out for the foreseeable future. While depth pass catchers like Jordan Watkins and Jacob Cowing aim to take advantage of the thinned-out group, no one would contest Evans and Samuel's importance to Shanahan's offense.
San Francisco kicks off against its NFC West rival at 4:05 p.m. ET from Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
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