The San Francisco 49ers found out the hard way what life could be like without superstar wide receiver Mike Evans when he missed Week 7's road bout against the Atlanta Falcons.
With Evans dealing with an Achilles injury, the Niners offense went wholly stagnant in the second half, leading to Atlanta's second-half comeback and eventual victory, handing San Francisco its first loss of the season.
While there was hope Evans could return after the bye and in time to face the 4-4 Las Vegas Raiders back at Levi's Stadium, general manager John Lynch cast doubts on the future Hall of Famer's availability.
John Lynch hints Mike Evans won't play for 49ers vs. Raiders
Speaking on his weekly appearance on KNBR 680's Murph & Markus Show Thursday morning, Lynch didn't exactly sound overly optimistic about Evans' return after the bye week.
When asked about Evans' availability, the GM responded:
That's probably likely that he won't be out there Sunday. What we're really trying to do there, he's got that tendinitis that flared up, and I think you learn from the history. [Running back Christian McCaffrey had this situation, and every player's different, every situation's different, but you don't want it to become something that really lingers.
So we're trying to knock it out such that when he comes back, we give him the best chance to stay back. Mike's working really hard to do that. He's such a competitor. It's hard to hold him back, but that's what we have to do. Again, looking for the best interests of our team and for Mike.
With fellow receiver Deebo Samuel dealing with a hamstring injury, albeit one that may not necessarily keep him out of Sunday's game, the 49ers may face yet another situation where they're dealing with wide receiver shortages.
49ers have some WR solace ahead of Raiders game
It's reasonable to worry about a repeat of what happened against the Falcons. But Lynch and Co. are facing an entirely different context.
First, Week 9 is a home game, and the Niners aren't traveling across the country on a short week, as was the case in Week 7 at Atlanta.
Additionally, Vegas has surrendered 1,292 receiving yards to wide receivers this season—seventh most entering Week 9, and the 10 touchdowns allowed to wideouts is tied for third most in the league.
Las Vegas also boasts the second-worst scoring defense in the NFL. And it has the third worst, in terms of yardage surrendered.
Plus, the shortages may not necessarily be too problematic, as veteran Demarcus Robinson appears poised to return after suffering an ankle injury way back in Week 2. While Robinson is no Evans, he at least provides a bona fide option for quarterback Brock Purdy and the passing game over many of the other fringe options down the depth chart.
While San Francisco will ultimately face challenges getting its perimeter receiving weapons involved, the outcome should be better than the one experienced two weeks prior.
Hat tip to David Bonilla of 49ers Webzone for the transcription.
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