Mike Evans was forced to leave Sunday’s game with a rib strain, according to a report by ESPN and NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, and the San Francisco 49ers wideout and former Texas A&M star will “have a full evaluation tomorrow.”
The longtime Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver, who made 6 Pro Bowl appearances and won a Super Bowl during his 12 seasons with Tampa Bay, joined the 49ers this offseason to help put San Francisco over the top in its quest for its own Super Bowl title during this era.
Evans had 3 catches for 34 yards and a touchdown on Sunday as the 49ers improved to 3-0 with a 36-30 home victory over the Arizona Cardinals. But there was that rib strain that got in the way of a smooth Sunday for Evans, and Rapoport warned in his report that those full evaluations, like the one Evans is scheduled for Monday, “can be painful.”
After signing a 3-year deal worth up to $42.4 million in the offseason to head west and join the 49ers, Evans has had an immediate impact. He had 6 catches for 49 yards and a touchdown in the season-opening victory over the Rams, then added 3 catches for 54 yards in last week’s blowout of the Dolphins.
With Texas A&M joining the SEC during Evans’ playing career in College Station, he immediately became 1 of the conference’s best receivers. Evans, who played at Texas A&M from 2011-13, was a first-team All-SEC and Consensus All-American selection in 2013.
Evans will be trying to be part of the solution for the 49ers to finally get over the hump and win that Super Bowl title in 2026. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about San Francisco’s chances to climb the mountain in this era and add to its Super Bowl trophy case next February:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
