Mike Evans Being Ruled OUT For Week 9 Would Open The Door For A Fantasy Football Sleeper Returning From Injury

It's been a tumultuous year for the San Francisco 49ers when it comes to injuries, to say the least. Week 9 is no exception. Wide receivers Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel are both expected to miss another game. However, reinforcements could be coming.
Mike Evans (ribs/Achilles) will likely "not be available" for Sunday's game against the Raiders, per GM John Lynch.
— RotoWire Fantasy Football (@RotoWireNFL) November 5, 2026
Via @MaioccoNBCS pic.twitter.com/QfEF96Z181
Both Christian Kirk and Demarcus Robinson have a chance to play on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders. Kirk and Robinson are nearing a return from a stint on injured reserve.
Nevertheless, neither is yet a lock to play after Kirk was downgraded to a DNP on Thursday and Robinson got in a limited practice. The DNP could just be a maintenance day, but we'd still say that Robinson is trending to be more on track than Kirk at this point.
Demarcus Robinson (ankle) expected to play Sunday https://t.co/4mLKL0qLtU via @Koslow_ari #FTTB
— FantasyPros (@FantasyProsNFL) November 5, 2026
This is a situation to monitor closely, but the 49ers' offense has chugged along despite all the injuries. That means that one of these wide receivers could have a ton of value in Week 9.
Fantasy Impact
WR Mike Evans, San Francisco 49ers
After missing the 49ers' final game prior to their Week 8 bye, it looks like Evans is set to miss another game. We do not expect him to play this week, opening the door for somebody else to step up.
WR Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers
The same goes for Samuel. He looks to be unlikely to play this week, and we fully expect him to be ruled out at some point today or possibly tomorrow. You should not be relying on him this week.
WR Demarcus Robinson, San Francisco 49ers
After getting another limited practice in on Thursday, Robinson looks like he's on track to make his return in Week 9. His ankle injury should be fully recovered, and he looked good earlier in the season before the injury.
In less than two games, he caught five of six targets for 84 yards and a touchdown. He has a legitimate shot to step up as the WR1 in San Francisco this week, regardless of what other receivers play, with the exception of Evans shockingly being active.
WR Christian Kirk, San Francisco 49ers
Kirk has a shot to play, but being downgraded on Thursday does raise concerns. If both Kirk and Robinson play, we would expect Robinson to be the better option since this would be Kirk's season and team debut. While Kirk would have more PPR upside, Robinson has more big-play upside.
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Mark Morales-Smith is a father of five, a former college football scout and semi-pro football player. Morales-Smith is a long-time competitive fantasy football player with well over a decade of professional writing experience at multiple high-level sites, including Sports Illustrated, FullTime Fantasy, FantasySP, and more.
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