The San Francisco 49ers are obviously excited about the addition of veteran wide receiver Mike Evans. Adding him to an offense that was already pretty impressive last season could make for some amazing results, and tight end George Kittle revealed Evans gives the Niners something they haven’t had since 2019.
Speaking with reporters, Kittle said the following about Evans: “If you look back at the 49ers, this is the first legit veteran WR I’ve had on my roster since Emmanuel Sanders in 2019.”
That’s pretty high praise from Kittle.
One might raise their eyebrows at his comments because Deebo Samuel was a proven veteran wide receiver by the end of his time in San Francisco, but maybe the fact Deebo is younger than Kittle and was drafted after him makes Kittle not truly count him as a veteran.
Brandon Aiyuk also could’ve sort of been considered a veteran in 2024 after he signed that huge contract extension, but again, he didn’t have a ton of experience under his belt, and given Aiyuk’s recent brush with the law and the fact he basically quit on the team, maybe Kittle doesn’t want to bring him up.
No matter what, it’s clear the 49ers now have something really special with Evans in the fold. It’s no surprise he already looks good in OTAs, and the footage we’ve seen of quarterback Brock Purdy throwing to him can’t help but get one pumped up for the upcoming season.
Of course, the fear is always going to be that Evans gets hurt. He missed half of last season due to a hamstring issue, and at the age of 32 it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he ended up missing some time this season.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan already seems to be trying to prevent that by canceling San Francisco's mandatory minicamp next week. He knows this season, with all of the tough travels, is going to be especially difficult for his injury-prone veterans.
The Niners can live without Evans for a couple weeks, but they just need to avoid a season-ending injury. That sort of big injury could potentially end their season.
Kittle is right that Evans gives San Francisco something it hasn’t had in a while, so the 49ers need to hope he stays on the field for most of the season if they want to take another run at a Super Bowl.
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