Oregon Ducks Wide Receiver Evan Stewart Releases Statement After Knee Injury

Oregon Ducks wide receiver Evan Stewart has officially addressed the injury he suffered at practice this week.

Per On3's Pete Nakos, Stewart suffered a torn patellar tendon, an injury that could potentially put him at risk of missing the entire 2025 season. Stewart was set to enter the season as Oregon's top pass catcher following the departures of receivers Tez Johnson and Traeshon Holden along with tight end Terrance Ferguson.

Stewart wrote on X that fans shouldn't "put a timeline" on his injury and that he will "be back soon." Though Stewart is almost certain to miss significant action next season, he appears to be hinting at a shorter recovery time than expected.

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"Thank you for all the well wishes, I’m on the road to recovery," Stewart wrote. "Don’t put a timeline on me. Following Gods Plan! Thank you for the prayers! 7 be back soon."

The injury occurred on Tuesday during 7-on-7, sources told Oregon Ducks on SI. The expected recovery time is about 6-12 months, which means either a potential December return or missing the entire season. Utilizing a redshirt for the 2025-26 football season could also be an option for Stewart.

Thank you for all the well wishes, I’m on the road to recovery. Don’t put a timeline on me. Following Gods Plan! Thank you for the prayers!💚~

7 be back soon🙏🏾!
— 𝓮𝓿𝓪𝓷 𝓼𝓽𝓮𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓽 (@0fficial_evan) June 8, 2025

Stewart ended his first season at Oregon with 48 catches for 613 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. He was as a potential NFL draft pick in the 2025 cycle but elected to return to Eugene for another year.

Without Stewart, the Ducks will lean on returners Gary Bryant Jr. and Justius Lowe along with Florida State transfer Malik Benson and five-star freshman Dakorien Moore.

Stewart also dealt with separate injury issues at the end of last season. A lower back injury kept him out of Oregon's Rose Bowl blowout loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes on New Year's Day in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals. It was thought that Stewart had suffered the injury in warmups but he revealed later that it happened at practice after the Big Ten Championship against Penn State.

Dec 30, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks wide receiver Evan Stewart (7) poses during Rose Bowl media day at Sheraton Grand LA. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"Just a lower back injury. Right after Big Ten practice, first practice back, was fighting to get back in practice over the past couple weeks," Stewart said. "Finally got back, probably like last week, Wednesday, Thursday, and then, today was kind of supposed to be the test day to see if I could really just go. Did the warm up, and just wasn't good enough, I guess. So they ultimately made a decision just to sit me."

Stewart said the back injury made it tough for him to have proper game strength. However, it's likely his presence would have made little difference in a game where the Buckeyes dominated.

“I was lagging a little bit,” Stewart said. “Balance was in the air, especially fighting forces like releases, reroutes. Keeping my body up, play strength. It wasn’t up to the tier it needed to be especially for it to be safe for me to play.”

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