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November 5, 2026
49ers Notebook

Christian Kirk missed practice Thursday, and the 49ers need Demarcus Robinson

John Lynch said Mike Evans probably will not play Sunday. Three receivers on the 53 are off the injury report, with 13 catches between them this season.

SK
Sam KezarNov 5, 20263 min read
Every call on this site goes on a public ledger and gets graded. The misses stay up.
Demarcus Robinson, in the 49ers' home red and gold, carries the ball along the sideline at Levi's Stadium as a Miami defender in white closes on him.

Christian Kirk did not practice Thursday. The club's report lists a knee, the same injury that had him limited Wednesday, and Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel sat out for a second straight day. Las Vegas comes to Levi's Stadium on Sunday. Kirk's 49ers career so far is one game, 20 snaps and no catches.

Evans. John Lynch said on KNBR on Thursday morning: "That's probably likely that he won't be out there Sunday." Evans has Achilles tendinitis, and Lynch pointed to the history of McCaffrey's case: "you don't want it to become something that really lingers." The report also lists ribs. Evans has 27 catches for 420 yards in six games.

Samuel. "I'd be surprised if he can go this week," Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday. He has not played since he hurt his hamstring at Seattle on Oct. 11. 49ers Webzone reported that Lynch grouped him with Evans as a receiver the club hopes to have back in the coming weeks.

Who is left. Brandin Cooks, Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins are the only receivers on the 53 not on the report. They have 13 catches for 218 yards this season, combined. At Atlanta, the last game without Evans and Samuel, the game book has the offensive snaps at:

Robinson. He was limited for a second straight day with his ankle, and Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area reported the expectation is that he will be ready for Sunday. He has 84 receiving yards in two games, more than Cooks or Cowing has all season. He is still on injured reserve and the 53 is full, so activating him takes a corresponding move. The practice squad holds four more receivers: KhaDarel Hodge, Wesley Grimes, Will Pauling and Xavier Smith.

McCaffrey. He was limited after sitting out Wednesday with what Shanahan called a mild hamstring strain. "It wasn't too bad," he said Wednesday, per 49ers Webzone. "I think having the bye week was awesome. Now, I feel great."

The defensive line. Nick Bosa was limited again; the report lists his knee and calf. Lynch said he watched Bosa, DeForest Buckner and Osa Odighizuwa line up together Wednesday, with Keion White, Romello Height and Mykel Williams also in the mix: "the plan is to give people some real problems."

Thursday's report.

Chan reported that Stout wore his standard jersey rather than the blue non-contact one. For Las Vegas, Thomas Booker (ankle) did not practice, Darien Porter (groin) and Dont'e Thornton (back) were limited, and Folorunso Fatukasi and Ian Thomas were full.

Jennings. Lynch gave his account of the Minnesota talks: "I thought we had a framework of a deal." He spoke to Jauan Jennings first, then took the phone to Shanahan for a FaceTime. "And Jauan ended up calling him back, along with Nolan, and saying, 'Hey, he's decided to stay here.'" Nolan is Vikings general manager Nolan Teasley.

Mac Jones. Asked whether teams have called about Brock Purdy's backup, with the deadline on Tuesday, Lynch said: "We'd have to be really motivated to move Mac."

Stribling. Lynch would not give a timeline for De'Zhaun Stribling after his ankle surgery. He said the hope is "at the end of this season, we'll have Strib back in the fold." Shanahan has said December.

The call. The 49ers do not trade for a receiver by Tuesday's deadline. The case against is recent: Lynch got to a framework with Minnesota, traded for Buckner on Oct. 28, and Shanahan said Wednesday that receivers are something "we still are looking into." The case for is Robinson's return and Lynch's own timeline on Evans and Samuel, which is weeks.

Sources: 49ers.com injury report (11-05); Lynch on KNBR via 49ers Webzone and Taylor Wirth, NBC Sports Bay Area (11-05); Jennifer Lee Chan, NBC Sports Bay Area (11-05); Shanahan transcript, club communications via 49ers Webzone (11-04); official game book, SF at ATL; ESPN game logs; 49ers.com roster page.

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The call is on the ROLE the money implies, not on production. His 2025 usage in Washington was 260 slot routes against 141 out wide and 15 from the backfield, out of 416, at 5.3 average air yards per target across 99 targets, with 67 of those 99 inside ten yards. Niners Nation projects him to the slot with Stribling at Z and Mike Evans at X. A one-year agreement whose value the player's own agent describes as a ceiling is a continuity buy, and a continuity buy uses the player it just watched rather than the one from 2021. If he instead lines up mostly wide, the read in the piece is wrong and the team bought something closer to the older version.

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