All offseason long, it seemed there was major concern for the health of the in the 2026 NFL season opener in Melbourne, Australia.
The six-time Pro Bowler maintained that he could have played throughout the preseason, downplaying the severity of his injuries.
"I know I'm an older player. I've had probably over a thousand football practices in my life now, so I know what I'm doing out there. They know what they're doing. They did a good job taking care of me," . "None of my injuries were significant, so if it was a game week, I wouldn't have missed any time.”
Evans has been one of the more anticipated players that people are waiting to see fit in with the San Francisco offensive core as he leads the wideout, playmaking position.
Mike Evans stats, history
Evans, a 12-year NFL veteran, has racked up at least 65 catches and 1,000 yards in every season he played with the as a free agent. Despite not being on the field as much while working his way back from injury, Evans showed up in other places to lead his new team.“Mike's been a stud. I've known him, I feel like I've known him forever, just going against him and stuff, but I really haven't as a person. And the coolest thing about Mike is the pro he's been," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "Anytime you have a guy who's, to me, a first ballot Hall of Famer, you never know exactly how they're going to be. But Mike, Mike is a worker, man. He makes no excuses. Anything you ask him to do, he tries to get it done. The way he is in meetings, he seems like a first-year guy in terms of being attentive and things like that. Whenever you have a Hall of Famer like that who acts that way, it's the best example possible for young guys.”
Shanahan isn't the only one who's taken notice of Evans' demeanor and presence as a veteran leader. 49ers tight end George Kittle, who was also announced to play Week 1 against the Rams, had high praise for Evans.
"Mike Evans is incredible," Kittle said. "I would say one thing I really enjoy about Mike Evans is just since he's been here, specifically like this week, and being out of practice with him, like we call these plays for him, and let's just say, for example, like he has like some type of widened posts, and the coaching points are, 'hey, you have to be the bottom edge of the numbers by 15 to 20 yards, and you have to keep it high and inside, right? ' Like, it takes a lot of receivers a lot of time to try to do that. Like young receivers takes a lot of reps. Like Mike Evans gets told what play is, and then he just does it, and he's just like no coaching points. It's just fun to be around somebody who knows that. "
With things seemingly good for now for the 49ers, everything is put to the test against the Rams. Evans gets to showcase why he was one of the top offseason moves that San Francisco made this offseason.
The Niners signed six-time Pro Bowl receiver Mike Evans to a three-year, $42.4 million base salary contract, which includes $16.3 million guaranteed, according to Mike Evans' debut coming 🔜
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