The San Francisco 49ers extended their unbeaten streak with a 23-17 win over the Washington Commanders on Monday, moving to 6-0 on the season. However, the win came with a blow as wide receiver Mike Evans suffered an injury.

Evans’ injury has raised questions about his availability for San Francisco’s upcoming games. The disappointing situation also prompted an emotional response from former 49ers All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman.

Richard Sherman Shares Brutal Achilles Injury Experience After Mike Evans’ Frustrating 49ers Exit

Evans was dealing with soreness in his right Achilles before the Commanders game. Despite not practicing on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, he informed head coach Kyle Shanahan that he was ready to play.

The 49ers WR’s willingness to suit up gave Shanahan enough confidence to include him in the lineup. However, Evans was unable to finish the game, and Shanahan described the problem as the same condition he had been dealing with before the matchup.

When asked whether Evans would require additional testing or imaging, Shanahan said he did not believe further evaluation would be necessary at that point. The coach also noted that Evans had been dealing with Achilles tendinitis.

Sherman expressed sympathy for Evans while discussing the injury on the “Richard Sherman Podcast.”

“Mike Evans was dominant in the first half, and obviously, I’ve dealt with an Achilles injury, and it’s tough,” Sherman said. “It’s frustrating…It’s a sharp pain. It just feels like every time you take a step, there’s a knife going in and out of your Achilles, in and out, and that’s when it’s not ruptured.”

“You’re almost hoping for a rupture at that point because the pain is so intense on a day-in, day-out basis. Sometimes you can get a cortisone shot kind of around your Achilles because you can’t get a cortisone into your Achilles because it’ll start to eat away at the tendon, and that’s a guaranteed rupture.”

Evans sustained the injury with 1:10 remaining in the second quarter. After Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves touched him down, the wide receiver remained on the field and attempted to stretch his right leg before slowly walking directly back to the locker room. San Francisco later ruled him out early in the third quarter.

Though it is disappointing, Sherman remained hopeful that the 49ers’ medical staff would be able to reduce the inflammation and help Evans recover quickly.

“Obviously, this staff has a lot of experience with that because they did a good job of mine,” Sherman added. “I’m thinking they’re going to be able to get Mike’s calmed down, but it is one of those injuries that’s kind of day-to-day. It’ll feel good for a couple of days, and then you know you wake up. There’s a little inflammation.”

“It’s a very small area behind your ankle, and when it gets irritated, it shuts down a lot of things. So I feel bad for Mike. He was having a fantastic game. He was setting himself up for a big day, but you could tell it was bothering him early, and he was trying to tough it out and soldier through. We’re hoping for a quick recovery from him.”

Evans finished the game with three receptions for a game-high 94 yards on five targets. He entered the game ranked No. 7 in the PFN’s NFL WR Impact rankings with an 85.9 grade.

Football analyst Warren Sharp later highlighted the huge difference in the 49ers’ offensive production depending on whether Evans was playing.

With the wide receiver on the field, San Francisco averaged a positive 0.57 expected points added per play and 9.0 yards per play. Without him, those numbers dropped to -0.14 EPA per play and 4.4 yards per play.

Evans’ injury also came at an inconvenient time for San Francisco, which has been dealing with several absences at wide receiver.