49ers QB Brock Purdy says he’s thrilled to play with Mike Evans. ‘He’s a bro’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Brock Purdy said Mike Evans brings quarterback-like route recognition to the 49ers.
- Evans signed a three-year deal reportedly worth just over $60 million with the 49ers.
- Purdy called 2026 second-round pick De’Zhaun Stribling a potential instant impact.
When the San Francisco 49ers signed likely future Hall of Famer Mike Evans to a three-year deal reportedly worth just over $60 million in March, the team got a much-needed upgrade at the wide receiver position.
But, according to quarterback Brock Purdy, the Niners may have also added another quarterback — at least, in how Evans approaches the game.
“Sometimes with skill players it’s tough ‘cause they run the route ‘Coach taught me 8 yards, I’m breaking this way, that way,’” Purdy said Wednesday in a 15-minute interview with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Laura Britt. “But when you get a guy that can see the game like a quarterback and have a feel for it, those are the kind of guys that take their game to the next level.”
That is, Purdy said, how you get a “Hall of Famer like Mike Evans.”
Evans, 32, is entering his 13th NFL season after spending his entire career previously with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who drafted the star wideout in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft out of Texas A&M. In his time with the Buccaneers, Evans amassed 13,052 yards on 866 catches and 108 touchdowns in 176 games.
Before an injury-plagued 2025 campaign, which saw Evans only play in eight games, Evans had 11 straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons to start his career. 49ers legend Jerry Rice is the only other receiver in NFL history to achieve that mark.
Purdy brought up Evans’ likely future Hall of Fame status at multiple points during the interview, saying his success and time playing with star quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay make him excited to play with the receiver.
“He’s been awesome,” Purdy said. “Being around him and in his presence and understanding what it’s going to take to play with him and, honestly, the good pressure that it brings. ‘All right, I have a guy that is demanding success and demanding to be great’ and I love that.
“I want to play with guys like that.”
Off the field, Purdy described Evans as a “real dude,” and said he and the rest of his Niners teammates have enjoyed being around him over the last two months.
“He’s a bro to all of us,” Purdy said. “He’s a guy that’s in the locker room, chatting it up, making jokes with guys and stuff.”
Evans joins the 49ers as they are set to lose former top receiving options Brandon Aiyuk after a falling out with the team last summer and Jauan Jennings, who signed with the Minnesota Vikings earlier this month.
Star tight end George Kittle may also miss part of the upcoming season as he recovers from a torn Achilles suffered in a January playoff win over the Philadelphia Eagles. However, on Wednesday, Purdy said he wouldn’t doubt Kittle’s ability to play as soon as the 49ers’ Week 1 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia, on Sept. 10.
“He’s done absolutely everything possible in terms of rehab and what you can do to get back. That’s George,” Purdy said. “Everything he does is 5,000% more than the average person. But we love him and the energy he brings, obviously. He’s a true captain, man, he does everything right.”
Amid the new-look receiving corps, another intriguing new weapon is the 49ers’ 2026 second-round pick De’Zhaun Stribling, who the team selected No. 33 overall out of Ole Miss.
Stribling’s 6-foot-2, 207-pound frame and elite speed could make him a dangerous option, likely contributing to the 49ers selecting him in the second round, which was considered a reach by many at the time. Stribling, who was widely projected to go in the third round, caught 55 passes for 811 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games for the Rebels last season after spending two years each at Washington State and Oklahoma State.
“Stribling is a guy that has a lot of raw talent,” Purdy said. “I feel like he’s going to be a guy that can come in and make an instant impact.”
Purdy said both him and coach Kyle Shanahan are excited about the receiving corps’ potential and the team’s overall prospects after making the playoffs and winning at least one playoff game in five of the last seven seasons, including two Super Bowl appearances, but falling short of winning a Lombardi Trophy each time.
During his introductory news conference in March, Evans said he felt like the 49ers were one piece from a championship and proclaimed: “I’m that piece.”
Whether the 49ers, with Evans and Stribling in tow, will finally win their first Super Bowl since 1994 is yet to be seen, but on Wednesday, Purdy exuded confidence.
“We’re really excited right now.”
