Banged-Up 49ers Likely Without Evans and Samuel Again as Raiders Visit

The San Francisco 49ers are 6-1, top seeds in the NFC, and still waiting to field anything like their full team. General manager John Lynch delivered the latest update on Thursday, and the news at wide receiver was the same frustrating story that has followed the Niners for weeks: Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel are both unlikely to play when the Las Vegas Raiders visit Levi's Stadium on Sunday.

Lynch, speaking on Bay Area radio station KNBR, did not formally rule either man out, but his assessment left little room for optimism. Evans is still dealing with the Achilles tendinitis that flared up during San Francisco's October game against the Washington Commanders and kept him out of the Week 7 loss to Atlanta. "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."

It is the cautious approach, and a familiar one. Achilles tendinitis is the kind of problem that punishes impatience, and the 49ers have no interest in turning a few missed weeks into a prolonged absence for a player they chased hard in the offseason. Evans will not have another game to prove he is ready before Tuesday's trade deadline either, which only sharpens the decision facing the front office about whether to add another receiver.

Samuel's case is simpler but no less annoying. The veteran has not played since injuring his hamstring in the Week 5 win over Seattle, and Lynch said he probably will not play on Sunday either. He was one of several receivers who did not practise on Thursday, along with Christian Kirk, who is nursing a knee injury. Demarcus Robinson and De'Zhaun Stribling, both with ankle problems, also missed the Atlanta game, leaving head coach Kyle Shanahan to patch together a receiving group that has rarely been at full strength.

There was better news elsewhere on the injury report. Robinson and KhaDarel Hodge are expected to play against the Raiders, and the signs are hopeful for bigger names too. Defensive end Nick Bosa, who has not played since Week 2 because of a calf injury, is expected to return, while running back Christian McCaffrey, who hurt his hamstring in the Atlanta defeat, has been a limited participant in training and is trending in the right direction. Having Robinson back would matter a great deal given the unlikelihood of Evans and Samuel returning, and Bosa's presence changes the defence entirely.

The context makes the absences easier to bear, just about. San Francisco sit top of the NFC at 6-1 despite the casualty list, and the second half of the season starts against a Raiders side they will expect to beat even short-handed. But the receiver room has been a revolving door all year — Brandon Aiyuk's reinstatement saga has run alongside it — and Lynch's update was a reminder that the 49ers' biggest opponent right now might be their own treatment table. Sunday's game, at 4:25 p.m. ET, will show how much longer they can keep winning while they wait for their stars to come back.