Mike Evans (rib) officially ruled out of Week 3

Evans is officially questionable to play. He did not practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but in uniform and did some running on the side in the early, open portion of Friday’s practice. The grizzled veteran tends to play through injuries. He will try to play this week while wearing a compression shirt with padding in it. Evans told reporters that he has played through a similar injury previously. If active, he carries obvious re-injury risk but warrants starting as a WR2.

49ers GM John Lynch said earlier today that Evans “will make every attempt” to play in Week 4 against the Broncos. The veteran receiver is no stranger to playing through injury. He attempted to do so last week with a hip injury, but taking a hit to the ribs knocked him out of the game. If active, he will be a WR2, albeit with re-injury risk.

Evans took a shot to the midsection in Week 3 and had to be carted to the locker room. He did not practice on Wednesday, but Evans is the type of player who can miss all three practices and still suit up. If he does, the 49ers will likely put him on a pitch count. If he can’t go, expect the passing attack to run through George Kittle and Deebo Samuel, with plenty of check-downs for Christian McCaffrey as well.

On the plus side, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan did not list Evans with the hip injury he dealt with last week, so that issue may already be behind him. Shanny also said he was “hopeful” Evans suits up against the Broncos. Evans is appears to be truly day to day, and frequently plays through injuries. He must still be considered questionable to play in Week 4. Stay tuned.

The season is only three weeks old, but it already feels like Evans has dealt with a whole year’s worth of injuries. The veteran receiver dealt with quad and abductor injuries in training camp and was listed with a hip injury entering Week 3’s game against the Cardinals. Now, he’ll look to play through a rib injury that had him carted off the field in the second quarter of Sunday’s win. It sounds like Evans will have a chance to suit up in Week 4 against the Broncos, but we’ll see how things look when the team releases its first injury report on Wednesday.

According to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner, “it was unclear exactly what happened to Evans.” He got hit hard in the sternum on a catch over the middle, but remained in the game for a few plays before needing help from the training staff to get off the field. Shanahan said the team couldn’t tell if Evans broke a rib or injured his oblique, but he believes those questions will be answered tomorrow, indicating Evans will likely undergo imaging. He entered the game with a hip injury. Wagoner adds that LT Trent Williams (stinger) and LB Dre Greenlaw’s (quad) injuries “seemed less severe” than Evans’ injury.

Evans took a major hit in the second quarter against the Cardinals, with Budda Baker jarring the veteran receiver in his torso. Trainers came out and took Evans off the field; he was seemingly struggling to breathe as he headed to the sideline. It is unclear yet what the injury is, but Evans was carted to the locker room shortly after. He had caught 3-of-6 targets for 34 yards and a touchdown at the time of his departure, with one of his catches leading to a pitch to Deebo Samuel on a hook-and-ladder touchdown.

Evans entered the weekend questionable for Week 3 after missing two practices and getting in one limited practice during the week. The veteran tends to rest minor injuries before playing in games, indicating his hip issue should not have a major impact on his output against the Cardinals. The 49ers declared QB Kurtis Rourke, DE Nick Bosa (calf), DL James Thompson (ankle), DE Romello Height (hand), LB Tatum Bethune, CB Ephesians Prysock, and OT Enrique Cruz Jr. inactive for Week 3 against the Cardinals.

Evans has been trending in the right direction throughout the week, with Kyle Shanahan already telling reporters a few days ago that he has a good chance to suit up. The team officially listed him as questionable on their final injury report, but fantasy managers can assume he is playing for now. Evans could see his role scaled back slightly, but the 49ers are extremely thin at receiver, having lost Demarcus Robinson to an ankle injury most recently. Even at less than full strength, Evans remains in play as a fantasy WR2.

Rapoport made the statement, and then immediately referenced 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan’s comments earlier this week, when he said Evans had a “good” chance to play this week, so it is unclear if Rapoport is actually breaking news. That said, no news is good news. If the NFL Network star had learned something contradictory, we would have heard about it. Evans returned to practice in a limited capacity today. Stay tuned for updates and treat him as a WR2 for the time being.