WR Mike Evans exits with painful injury as more 49ers go down
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Already beset by significant injury issues through the season's first two weeks, the San Francisco 49ers took more hits on Sunday, losing wide receiver Mike Evans (ribs/oblique), left tackle Trent Williams (stinger) and linebacker Dre Greenlaw (quad) to injuries that did not allow them to finish the game.
Out of the multiple injuries the Niners dealt with in their 36-30 win against the Arizona Cardinals, the one to Evans might be the most concerning, though coach Kyle Shanahan didn't have an update afterward.
"We don't know yet," Shanahan said. "We couldn't tell if it was a broken rib. We couldn't tell if it was an oblique. Something we'll find out probably more tomorrow."
It was unclear exactly what happened to Evans, but he was slow to come off the field in the second quarter after a third-down pass from quarterback Brock Purdy intended for him fell incomplete. A few plays earlier, a Cardinals defender hit Evans in the sternum on a completion over the middle, but Evans stayed in for a couple of snaps before departing.
Niners medical staff ran onto the field and helped Evans as he clutched at the right side of his sternum. Evans then got up slowly and walked to the sideline, where he entered the medical tent. After a few minutes, he got on a cart to go to the locker room.
At halftime, the Niners ruled out his return due to a rib injury. Evans, who managed a hip injury during the week, finished his day with three catches for 34 yards and a touchdown and also caught the short pass that he would eventually lateral to wideoutDeebo Samuel Sr.for an 80-yard touchdown on San Francisco's opening possession.
The 49ers signed Evans in the offseason to give Purdy an established No. 1 wide receiver, and Evans has provided that through the first three weeks even as injuries have removed Ricky Pearsall (knee), De'Zhaun Stribling (ankle), Demarcus Robinson (ankle) and Christian Kirk (calf) from the depth chart at the position.
San Francisco finished the game with Samuel, Jacob Cowing, KhaDarel Hodge and Jordan Watkins as the only healthy and available wideouts on the roster. Pearsall is out for the season. Stribling is likely to miss another eight or nine weeks and Robinson at least three more. And Kirk isn't eligible to return from injured reserve until Week 5.
Through 2 games, Evans had 12 receptions for 137 yards and two touchdowns before leaving Sunday's contest.
"Losing a Hall of Fame wide receiver who is still playing at a Hall of Fame level, that's tough to replace," San Francisco tight end George Kittle said. "You don't really get that very often. But ... we have a lot of good players on this team. Young guys, they're all going to play at a high level, that's my expectation of them."
The injuries to Williams and Greenlaw seemed less severe, though those also will require further monitoring and evaluation.
Williams departed in the third quarter on a cart, and though he returned to the sideline, he did not reenter the game. Vederian Lowe finished at left tackle.
Greenlaw tweaked his quad late in the game, returned briefly and then came back out.
"He came back for one play, then we shut him down," Shanahan said.
Linebacker Garret Wallow replaced Greenlaw and also suffered a stinger, though Wallow returned to finish the game.
The injuries to Evans, Williams and Greenlaw weren't the only ones the Niners sustained Sunday. At various points, both starting cornerbacks -- Deommodore Lenoir and Renardo Green -- left the game for concussion evaluations. Both cleared those evaluations and went back in.
Rookie defensive tackle Gracen Halton also missed a chunk of the outing with cramping.
Shanahan said despite all the moving parts, he didn't stop to stew about the latest round of injuries for his 3-0 team.
"You're just thinking about how to adjust, and when you lose guys, especially guys like Mike, change the stuff on your call sheet, changes wristbands, things like that," Shanahan said. "You don't have time to think about anything else. When guys go down, you hope they return, but you adjust and you wait till they tell you they're back. And if they don't, you keep it moving."br/]
