49ers Rule Out Evans, Samuel and Kirk Against Raiders

The San Francisco 49ers were set to face the Las Vegas Raiders without wide receivers Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel and Christian Kirk, as the team managed injuries ahead of its Week 9 game. Later reporting said all three had been ruled out; earlier Thursday comments from general manager John Lynch had described Evans and Samuel as unlikely to play, without formally ruling them out. Lynch said Evans’ Achilles tendinitis was a reason to avoid rushing his return. Evans had missed the 49ers’ previous game and had left an earlier game against Washington after trying to play through the injury. Lynch said the team wanted to prevent the condition from lingering so Evans could return with a better chance of staying available. He referred to Christian McCaffrey’s history with a similar issue, while cautioning that each player and situation is different. Samuel had been out with a hamstring injury since the 49ers’ game against Seattle. Lynch said Thursday that Samuel was also likely to miss the Raiders game. The later report listed him among the players ruled out and said the team hoped to get him and Evans back in the coming weeks. Kirk had not made his 49ers debut. Coach Kyle Shanahan...