Electric substation or not, the injury concerns for the San Francisco 49ers are undeniable. All throughout the offseason, things have been looking murky for the team, with their problems only confounding since training camp began.
Among the injuries, one of the biggest blows came in the form of arguably their biggest offseason acquisition, Mike Evans.
What Is Mike Evans’ Injury?
A first-round pick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in 2014, Evans spent more than a decade with the franchise. Becoming a model of consistency, he tied Jerry Rice for most consecutive seasons with 1,000 or more yards at 11.
But with age and injuries piling up, the Buccaneers chose to move on from him. As a result, the six-time Pro Bowler signed a three-year deal worth as much as $42.4 million with the 49ers. Unfortunately, things are off to a rough start already.
The official injury designation for Evans currently is with his adductor. But this summer has seen a litany of injuries plague the veteran wide receiver. Starting with a quadriceps injury early in August, he then dealt with a groin issue.
Up until last week, it looked like he was making a steady recovery from the groin injury, but things seemed to have taken a turn for the worse since then. Instead, he is now listed as dealing with an adductor, further coloring the entire situation with confusion.
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When Will Evans Return?
Last season marked the first time that Evans hadn’t compiled over 1,000 receiving yards in a year. A serious hamstring injury, followed by a concussion and a broken clavicle, limited him to just eight games and 368 receiving yards.
As a result, he ranked at number 63 on PFN’s Wide Receiver Impact Metrics. Still, the 49ers had a belief that they could get a version closer to the player who’d ranked inside the top-15 in each of the prior two seasons.
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Unfortunately, the slew of injuries has now complicated matters.
On August 25, Shanahan said he hoped Evans would be back on the practice field the following week, giving him ample time to prepare for the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams.
But the latest from general manager John Lynch may have changed that notion. According to David Lombardi of The San Francisco Standard on September 1, Lynch confirmed that Evans would return to practice next week.
That would barely give him any time to get ready for the first game of the season. Adding in the game being played in Australia and the long flight, which the 49ers are preparing to take a week before the game, could result in him missing the game outright.
So far, the team hasn’t given a confirmation for his status in Week 1. But given the tight timelines, it might be one of the biggest questions heading into that game.
