San Francisco 49ers suffer yet another injury to a key player on their offense as their 2026 nightmare continues
49ers Wide Receiver Mike Evans was carted off during the 2nd quarter in the Week 3 contest against the Arizona Cardinals. San Francisco’s No. 1 perimeter weapon suffered a vicious hit to his ribs from Budda Baker.
The San Francisco 49ers cannot catch a break. Veteran wide receiver Mike Evans was carted off the field during the first half of the 49ers’ matchup against the Arizona Cardinals after taking a vicious rib shot over the middle from Cardinals safety Budda Baker.
Evans had been having a productive game before the hit, hauling in three catches for 34 yards and a touchdown. Baker caught him clean with a helmet to the ribs, and Evans immediately went down in obvious pain.
The 49ers currently lead the Cardinals 17-6 at the break, as it seems they will have to hold on to win this one without Evans on the field. There has been no update to his status yet.
A scary scene on the sideline
What made this particularly concerning was Evans’ condition after the play. He went to the sideline and was struggling to move and even breathe at that point. In a situation like this, you worry about a potential rib issue or a lung issue given the deep pain he appeared to be in.
Taking a helmet to the ribs can be a scary thing in the NFL, and the fact that Evans was carted off rather than walking under his own power is not a great sign. It appears he will be out for the remainder of this contest.
San Francisco’s receiver room is falling apart
I think this is the part that makes it all so frustrating. Evans has had a great start to the season for San Francisco after being brought in this offseason as their new No. 1 target, and now he’s the latest name on an injury list that keeps growing.
Look, the 49ers’ wide receiver room has been absolutely decimated. They lost De’Zhaun Stribling in Week 1. They lost DeMarcus Robinson last week. Ricky Pearsall went down in the preseason, and Christian Kirk is currently sitting on IR. That’s an unreal amount of attrition at one position group, and now you add Evans to the pile.
And it’s not just the receivers. Nick Bosa went down earlier this week as well. It’s been a nightmare for the San Francisco 49ers, plain and simple.
Who steps up from here?
The Niners are going to have to lean heavily on Deebo Samuel and Jordan Watkins for the rest of this game, as well as tight ends George Kittle and Luke Farrell. They obviously can even target running back Christian McCaffrey out of the backfield. Brock Purdy has been excellent to start the season, and he’ll need to continue to play at that MVP level in this second half.
San Francisco has the talent to survive losing a guy for a game here or there. But losing this many weapons over such a short stretch? That’s a different conversation entirely. The 49ers are going to need some of these guys back sooner rather than later if they want to stay in the mix in the NFC.
