49ers cautious with Evans (quad), good for Week 1

Stribling suffered a deltoid sprain in his ankle. He is not expected to undergo surgery at this time, though Rapoport notes it is still a possibility. The fact that Rapoport noted that Stribling is “still seeking opinions” suggests surgery is very much on the table. With the rookie sidelined, Demarcus Robinson will slide into the three-receiver rotation. He scored a long touchdown versus the Rams in Week 1, though he profiles as a boom/bust WR6 going forward. Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel will see the majority of targets in most weeks.

Evans made his debut with the 49ers and high-pointed a touchdown pass from Brock Purdy the way we’ve seen him do it for well over a decade with the Buccaneers. He did have a drop, but he was targeted early as the 49ers were pass-happy in the first half before needing less of an aerial attack over the final two quarters. Evans is always going to be a red-zone threat with his 6-foot-5 size, and stands a decent chance of scoring again in Week 2 against the Dolphins.

This is an encouraging piece of news from Evans, who dealt with a quad injury and an abductor injury during training camp. According to the 33-year-old vet, none of the injuries he was dealing with would have resulted in him missing game time, which should give fantasy managers a boost of confidence entering this season. Evans signed a three-year contract with the 49ers this offseason and is coming off a year in which he was limited to just eight games due to a hamstring injury and a broken clavicle. Evans is expected to serve as the Niners’ WR1 this season and profiles as a high-upside WR2 in fantasy who should provide plenty of big weeks this season.

In his projected depth chart, Barrows lists Stribling as both the starting slot receiver and the No. 2 X-receiver. He does not place Stribling on the Z-receiver depth chart, which could mean the rookie wide receiver has not yet earned a role in two-wide receiver sets. Veteran WR Deebo Samuel is the starting Z-receiver, though Barrows already reported that Samuel will take only “a portion” of the overall Z-receiver snaps. It would be surprising to see Nos. 2-3 Z-receivers, Jordan Watkins and Jacob Cowing, play ahead of Stribling when Samuel needs a breather, but the season is long and Stribling can always change Barrows’ mind. Early in the year, Stribling is likely best treated as a WR4/FLEX candidate. Were Evans to miss time, Stribling would seemingly slide into a full-time starting role.

Evans missed the bulk of training camp with quad, groin, and abductor injuries. The team took a cautious approach to his practice regimen during the offseason, and it seems to have paid off with him back on the field today. Evans’ status on the 49ers’ practice report next week will be one of the bigger storylines for the 49ers, but all signs point to him being healthy for Week 1. Fantasy managers can keep drafting him as a low-end WR2 for the final week of the summer.

Evans’ Week 1 status is starting to look iffy after missing most of the past few weeks with various injuries. Entering his age-33 season, Evans will need to log at least a couple practices next week if he’s going to suit up against the Rams in the season opener. Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan said Evans is “ahead of schedule doing good. But we know with Mike and where he is at in his career, we’ll definitely have to treat him differently.” An Evans absence would be a marked boost for De’Zhaun Stribling and perhaps Deebo Samuel. Evans will be a name to watch in the coming days.

Evans has been dealing with a myriad of injuries throughout training camp, the latest being a groin issue. The injuries have been reported as minor as the 33-year-old manages his way through practices after having missed significant time due to injuries the last couple seasons. He was already expected to miss minimal time - if any - and Fowler confirms that Evans and the 49ers are still preparing for him to play Week 1.

Kyle Shanahan indicated Evans should be back to practice next week before leaving for Australia. The line between “Evans is being treated very carefully” and “Evans is always hurt” has been blurred for a few years now, but it doesn’t seem like he’s in any danger of missing time yet.

It would be really nice to see Evans consistently practice in full at this point, but both Inman and ESPN’s Nick Wagoner appear mostly unconcerned by today’s development. Per Wagoner, Evans stopped practicing after running a deep route on Sunday. Evans “seemed to be moving fine” after exiting. Wagoner adds that it is “clear he and the Niners want to be cautious to get him to the regular season ready to go.” Evans’ soft tissue concerns remain present, but as long as he takes the field on game day, he is a WR2 with WR1 upside.

He was limited to individual work, but it’s a good sign that Evans is back on the field at all. It does seem like his quad injury isn’t much to worry about and that he can be drafted with that in mind.