Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans has been limited during the San Francisco 49ers’ training camp due to a strained left quad. Evans was the 49ers’ marquee signing during free agency to help elevate the team to Super Bowl contention in 2026, penning a lucrative three-year, $42.4 million contract.
Chris Simms Doubts Mike Evans’ Fit with 49ers
During Monday’s segment of the “Pro Football Talk” show, former NFL quarterback Chris Simms questioned Evans’ fit with the 49ers because of his contrasting playing style with the franchise quarterback, Brock Purdy.
“I think everybody in the league is going, ‘Oh, man, they’re gonna depend on him? Can you depend on him now?'” Simms asked. “And then even before that, even bringing up just the physical ability of Mike Evans, the other thing I know I question, and I know a lot of people in the league question too, is, does he even really fit with how the 49ers play?
“I mean, we’ve watched Mike Evans our whole career. He’s been a guy that’s been on the outside, down the field, comebacks, post, go routes. Throw it up, he gets it, 20-yard curl routes, that’s how he works. Brock Purdy isn’t that kind of quarterback.”
Simms added, “We don’t sit there and wax poetically about Purdy and go, ‘Woo, look at that laser on that 20-yard out route he threw right there. Woo, look at that bomb that he threw there… so he’s not that kind of guy, and is Mike Evans the guy that can go over the middle consistently? ‘Cause we know that’s where the 49ers live… The Mike Evans thing [is] certainly a big question mark.”
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Last season, Evans sustained a hamstring injury during a Week 3 game against the New York Jets, keeping him out of action for a month. He also suffered a concussion and a broken clavicle, which ruled him out for a huge chunk of the season.
Since being selected No. 7 overall by the Bucs in the 2014 NFL Draft, Evans has broken several franchise receiving records as he established himself as one of the league’s greatest receivers.
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Before an injury-plagued 2025 season, Evans had 11 consecutive seasons of 1,000+ receiving yards, tied with the legendary Jerry Rice for the most by a receiver in NFL history.
Last season was the least productive of Evans’ illustrious career, managing just 368 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns on 30 receptions in eight games, earning a PFN WR Impact score of 69.9.
The 49ers’ receiving corps suffered a huge blow when Ricky Pearsall was ruled out for the rest of the year after his posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury flared up. Christian Kirk, who was signed to a one-year deal, has also missed most of training camp with a calf injury, further depleting the team’s wideout options.
The 49ers responded by signing free agent Deebo Samuel Sr. to bolster their wide receiver room next season.
