49ers Notebook

Mike Evans practiced Friday, but he is a game-time decision against Denver

The 49ers ruled out Nick Bosa, James Thompson Jr. and Mykel Williams and listed four men as questionable, two of them linebackers.

SK
Sam KezarOct 2, 20263 min read
Every call on this site goes on a public ledger and gets graded. The misses stay up.
Dre Greenlaw, in the 49ers' white road jersey, stands on the sideline in light rain during the 2019 season, with a crowd in ponchos behind him.

Mike Evans went back on the practice field Friday, limited, after missing Wednesday and Thursday with the rib injury from the Arizona game. The club's final report lists him as questionable for Sunday against Denver. Kyle Shanahan called him a game-time decision, per David Bonilla of 49ers Webzone.

Evans, in his words. He said he did not feel anything in his chest or ribs until he turned on a route against the Cardinals, and then it felt "like somebody stabbed me in my chest," per Bonilla. His plan for Sunday: "I'm gonna do my best." During the portion of Friday's practice open to reporters he was in uniform and running on the side, not working with the team, per the same outlet. The club still filed him as limited.

Shanahan has had the same injury. He broke his own ribs this offseason. "Mine are good now, but it's been two months, and I would not be questionable. I would be out, without a doubt," he said, per Bonilla. "But he's definitely a lot tougher than me, so hopefully we've got a shot."

The ruled out. Nick Bosa (knee, calf) misses a second straight game. James Thompson Jr. (ankle) is out again. Mykel Williams (knee) practiced on a limited basis all week with his return window open, but he cannot come off the physically unable to perform list before Week 5 at Seattle.

The questionable. Evans, Dre Greenlaw (quadriceps), Keion White (hamstring) and Jaden Dugger (shoulder), per the club's report. Greenlaw and White had not practiced Wednesday or Thursday and were limited Friday. Dugger is new to the report. He hurt the shoulder in Thursday's practice, Shanahan said, and was limited Friday, per Mike Masala of Niners Wire.

Why Greenlaw can skip the week. Shanahan pointed back to 2021, on KNBR on Thursday. "I'll go back to Dre. He didn't play 16 weeks in a row and barely practiced in Week 17 when we needed to beat the Rams to get into the playoffs," he said, per Bonilla. The count runs a little high: Greenlaw missed 14 of the 15 games between the opener and the finale, per the same report. The finale was a 27-24 overtime win at the Rams, and he made 12 tackles in it. "It was maybe the best game I've ever seen by a linebacker," Shanahan said.

White was held back on purpose. "Hopefully, he'll be good by Sunday, but definitely don't want to risk it these two days," Shanahan said, per Bonilla. White is the only 49er with more than one sack this season, per the same report.

What the defense has without the questionable four. Seven defensive linemen on the 53 carry no designation: Osa Odighizuwa, Gracen Halton, Romello Height, Khalid Kareem, Ogbo Okoronkwo, Naquan Jones and Viliami Fehoko Jr. White would make eight. Matthew Judon is on the practice squad and can be elevated. At linebacker, Fred Warner, Tatum Bethune, Luke Gifford and Garret Wallow carry no designation; Greenlaw and Dugger are the other two of the six on the 53.

Cleared. Trent Williams (neck) was a full participant Friday after a rest day Wednesday and a limited one Thursday, per the club. Height (hand) was limited all three days and has no game status, which means he is available.

Two receivers further out. Dante Pettis, who signed to the practice squad Wednesday, hurt a calf in practice and is unlikely to be elevated, per Bonilla. Christian Kirk (calf), on injured reserve, may be two weeks away rather than one, per the same report.

No transaction Friday. The club's transaction log still ends with Thursday's moves: Brandin Cooks to the 53, Malik Turner to the practice squad, KhaDarel Hodge released.

Denver's side. The Broncos ruled out linebacker Dondrea Tillman (hamstring) and gave no other player a game status, per Bonilla.

Kickoff Sunday is 1:25 p.m. Pacific at Levi's Stadium.

Sources: San Francisco 49ers injury report and transaction log (49ers.com), Oct. 2; David Bonilla, 49ers Webzone, Oct. 2; Kyle Shanahan's Friday press conference transcript, 49ers Webzone, Oct. 2; Mike Masala, Niners Wire, Oct. 2.

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On the record

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Between the 49ers' first regular-season game and 2026-11-01, Deebo Samuel runs more pass routes from the slot than from out wide. Method, fixed in advance: alignment splits as published for Samuel over that span, slot routes against wide routes, backfield routes excluded from both sides. Ties resolve as FALSE. The comparison is his own two figures, so no league-wide source is needed to score it.

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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