Who Should I Start? Mike Evans or Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Thursday, August 13, 4:48 PM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Mike Evans (quadriceps) is not in uniform for the team's preseason opener on Thursday night against the Tennessee Titans, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN. Evans returned to practice earlier this week, but it's no surprise that he's not playing in the preseason opener after recently missing time due to a minor quad strain that he suffered early in training camp. In addition to Evans, receivers Christian Kirk and Demarcus Robinson aren't in uniform, and star running back Christian McCaffrey is out as well. It's unclear if the veteran Evans will play in any preseason games as he heads into his first year in the Bay Area with the Niners. The 32-year-old future Hall of Famer broke his string of 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons in 2025 in his final year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers due to a broken collarbone that limited him to eight starts. A bounce-back should be coming in 2026 if he stays healthy, but that's a big question mark for an aging receiver who is closer to the end of his career than the beginning of it. For fantasy purposes, Evans should be considered a low-end WR2/high-end WR3 who will be a go-to target for QB Brock Purdy in the red zone.