Who Should I Start? Mike Evans or Michael Pittman Jr.

Thursday, November 12, 5:49 PM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Mike Evans (Achilles) "is real close" to returning, head coach Kyle Shanahan told KNBR (via David Lombardi of The San Francisco Standard). Shanahan noted that Evans, who is dealing with Achilles tendinitis, would likely be playing through the injury if it were the playoffs. That would seem to indicate that the 49ers are managing Evans' workload so that he can fully recover and be healthy for the second half of the season. The veteran pass catcher has been a very impressive contributor when active this year, catching 27 passes for 420 yards and three touchdowns through parts of six games in 2026. Evans is one of several Niners receivers dealing with injuries, joining Deebo Samuel Sr. (hamstring), De'Zhaun Stribling (ankle), and Christian Kirk (knee). Assuming Evans sits out Week 10, the 49ers will roll out Jordan Watkins, Demarcus Robinson, and newly acquired Keenan Allen as their top wide receivers. Among that group, Allen has the best fantasy outlook, but only if he has made enough progress learning the 49ers' offense since Tuesday's trade.