San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch joined Bay Area radio station KNBR on Thursday morning. He wasn't quite ready to rule out wide receiver Mike Evans playing Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.
However, it sounds unlikely.
Evans has been dealing with Achilles tendinitis, which kept him out of the 49ers' Week 7 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, a game that resulted in San Francisco's first loss of the season.
"I don't know if I'd rule that out," Lynch said when asked about Evans' chances of playing against the Raiders. "That's probably likely that he won't be out there Sunday. What we're really trying to do there, he's got that tendinitis that flared up, and I think you learn from the history. [RB] Christian [McCaffrey] had this situation, and every player's different, every situation's different, but you don't want it to become something that really lingers.
"So we're trying to knock it out such that when he comes back, we give him the best chance to stay back. Mike's working really hard to do that. He's such a competitor. It's hard to hold him back, but that's what we have to do. Again, looking for the best interests of our team and for Mike.
"So, we're committed to doing that, but when he's ready, he's ready, and so we're pushing to try to do that. We're pulling back at the appropriate times, and our training staff's doing a really good job trying to get that thing in a good spot, so when we get Mike back, he can have the impact that he was having earlier this season, which was immense."
Lynch grouped Evans with wide receiver Deebo Samuel, with the 49ers hoping to get both playmakers back in the coming weeks.
That makes it increasingly likely that quarterback Brock Purdy will take the field Sunday against the Raiders without two of his key offensive weapons. San Francisco will need its remaining playmakers to step up as it looks to get back on track following its first loss of the season.
More info on: Mike Evans, Christian McCaffrey, Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel
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