49ers WR Room Takes a Hit: Mike Evans Dodges a Bullet, Demarcus Robinson Dodges the Rest of the Month
Kyle Shanahan said he did not believe Mike Evans' hip injury was serious, and he could have returned in Sunday's fourth quarter if needed.
The managed to drop 35 points on the on Sunday, but the real scoreboard watching happened in the medical tent.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan delivered a classic good news, bad news injury update for a wide receiver room that is suddenly looking a little light. dodged a major hip issue, but Demarcus Robinson is officially dealing with a high ankle sprain.
According to Adam Schefter, Shanahan downplayed the Evans injury, claiming the veteran could have returned in the fourth quarter if needed. When you are coasting to a 35-13 win over , putting an aging receiver back on the field with a tight hip is the kind of coaching malpractice that gets you investigated by the league. Evans left late in the third quarter, and keeping him on ice was the only logical move.
Fantasy managers and prop bettors can exhale for now. Evans famously saw his historic 11-year streak of 1,000-yard seasons snap last year after missing nine games. The guy does not need to be risking his joints in the garbage time of a September blowout.
The Robinson news is where the actual roster math gets complicated. He was carted off in the second quarter, and a high ankle sprain is the NFL equivalent of a check-engine light that stays on for a month. You can try to drive on it eventually, but you are not going to like the results.
Shanahan is already bracing for a multi-week absence for Robinson. will have to dig into their depth chart to fill those snaps, which means the target share behind Evans is about to become a weekly guessing game. Keep an eye on the practice reports this week, because the 49ers are going to need someone else to actually catch the ball.