Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans were not thrilled when Jason Licht allowed Mike Evans to leave in free agency. Those fans owe Licht an apology. While there is still plenty of time for Evans to make an impact with the 49ers, he has to get on the field first.
Evans' first camp with San Francisco has been one injury after another. What makes it worse is that Evans' injuries are all minor; that means he is getting banged up enough to miss time, but nothing specific that requires time to heal. Now, he is banged up again.
Mike Evans has a groin injury, per @MaioccoNBCS.
— Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) August 25, 2026
He is not practicing today after leaving practice early twice over the last week. pic.twitter.com/4Ah4oBKitN
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans is going to get to know the sideline blue tent well in 2026
We are not making fun of Evans' injuries. It's quite the opposite, we wish he didn't have any at all. The beloved veteran WR made a decision for his career, and fans supported that, but they also realize that they may have avoided this problem.
Since the start of training camp, Evans has had more dings that receptions, or so it seems.
- Quad Strain - early in camp
- Ankle issues - foot needed to be wrapped
- Quad issue again
- Groin injury - most recent
Evans is becoming a walking M.A.S.H unit all on his own. Kyle Shanahan has labeled the injuries as minor, but if he is dealing with this stuff during limited camp practices, what is going to happen when the season is in full swing?
This isn't something new either. Evans missed nine games in 2025 and three games in 2024. It's no longer a fluke. If this were a high-angle sprain, there is a recovery timeline, a set of protocols for rehab. A non-serious knee injury is easy to recover from. Those are specific problems, but soft tissue issues are much harder to get over, and given his 12 years in the NFL, it's only going to get worse.
Tampa may not have wanted to see Evans leave, but they can take some comfort in knowing that they are not paying a hefty contract for him to sit on the sidelines. It's a small consolation.
The Buccaneers won't face the 49ers in the regular season, but there is always a possibility of a postseason matchup. It will be interesting to see how much Evans contributes this year compared to how much time he might actually end up missing.
Evans signed a three-year contract that could pay as much as $43 million. He was guaranteed $16.3 million, but the 49ers will also pay him up to $850,000 in per-game roster bonuses whether he is on the field or standing on the sidelines.
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