The San Francisco 49ers are facing a familiar challenge as their training camp is once again marred by player injuries, most recently involving veteran receiver Mike Evans.
Evans, who had previously missed time in camp with a strained left quad, left a joint practice with the Los Angeles Chargers on Tuesday due to "some tightness" in the same area. The 32-year-old receiver had only recently returned to practice after his initial injury.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan described the issue as "tightness," a term he has also used for running back Christian McCaffrey's ongoing absence from camp. Evans left the practice midway through and was seen with an ice pack on his quad.
Shanahan expressed optimism that Evans' injury is not serious, stating, "We were just being smart taking him out. I don’t think it’s anything worse." However, the recurrence of the issue is a concern for a receiver in his 13th season.
Other Key Players Also Managing Injuries
The 49ers' injury report also includes other prominent players. Christian McCaffrey has been sidelined due to "tightness" that Shanahan has been vague about, leading to some league speculation that has been refuted by the coach.
Shanahan indicated that if the season opener were this week, McCaffrey would have been able to participate in Tuesday's practice. The coach also provided an update on defensive end Nick Bosa, who has been dealing with tendinitis in his surgically repaired right knee after previously suffering a torn ACL.
"He’s making a lot of progress. A lot less irritation, soreness, tendinitis – whatever you want to call it – than he had last week," Shanahan said of Bosa. "So he’s going in the right direction. We see him similar to Christian."
The team is also managing the availability of tight end George Kittle, who is recovering from a torn Achilles, and fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who has a fractured finger.
The string of injuries to key contributors, many of whom are over 30 years old, raises concerns for the 49ers as they approach the regular season. The team had already seen the season-ending injury to Ricky Pearsall and persistent calf issues for Christian Kirk prior to Evans' latest setback.