It may have seemed almost impossible that 33-year-old San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Mike Evans could be as productive as he’s been the last two weeks while playing with broken ribs. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Evans is now reportedly dealing with Achilles soreness, which kept him out of practice on Thursday.
It’s not clear whether this will impact his availability for Monday’s game against the Washington Commanders, but at the very least this has to make head coach Kyle Shanahan consider putting Evans on something of a pitch count for the rest of the season.
That’s essentially what the Niners have done with running back Christian McCaffrey, who hasn’t had 20 touches in a game all season. San Francisco has finally learned how to keep McCaffrey fresh to ensure he is at his best later in the season, rather than wearing him down before the season's most important games.
Mike Evans is simply too valuable to play the bulk of early-season snaps for 49ers
Evans was out there for 38 of 60 snaps on offense against Seattle. Shooting for two-thirds of snaps seems reasonable, and having him out there on third downs makes a lot of sense given how much he and quarterback Brock Purdy seem to connect when a first down is needed.
Evans is arguably the most skilled receiver Purdy has played with since the start of his career. On multiple occasions, the quarterback has shown his willingness to throw 50-50 balls Evan's way. More often than not, the 6-foot-5 Evans has come down with it, which is a luxury San Francisco fans haven't experienced in a long time.
Like McCaffrey, though, the Niners have to preserve such a weapon. If he blows out his Achilles in Week 6, it doesn’t matter that he helped San Francisco start 5-0. They need him as healthy as possible for a playoff run. If that means limiting him a bit and potentially even costing the team a regular season game or two, then so be it in the name of the greater good.
One hopes he is fine and will be able to play well the rest of the season, but the ribs issue combined with the Achilles soreness is plenty of reason for the Niners to be cautious with him and put him on a McCaffrey-like pitch count.
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