The Seattle Seahawks are entering the 2026 season hoping to repeat as Super Bowl champions. The NFC West division will continue to make things difficult for them, though, as they have to deal with the likes of the Rams and 49ers multiple times a year.
The 49ers, however, are dealing with an issue that's becoming harder and harder for everyone to ignore. San Francisco made it their life's mission this offseason to add talent at the wide receiver position, and so far, that's not going according to plan for them.
The biggest move the Seahawks' nemesis made was bringing in long-time Buccaneer Mike Evans, who was looking for a change of scenery. Evans is undoubtedly going to be a Hall of Famer and will be looked at as an all-time great of the game. Yet, his 49ers tenure, while still in its early stages, isn't going well.
The San Francisco 49ers just gave the Seattle Seahawks fans a reason to feel much better
Evans has been dinged up all throughout training camp and, once again, left the 49ers' recent practice early due to an injury. For the expectations the Niners have for Evans, seeing him already struggling to stay on the field isn't a good sign for them. The 49ers also lost Ricky Pearsall for the season, so that's two of their starting wide receivers that are either out or could miss time.
They've also whiffed on Christian Kirk, another name they brought in this offseason, who went from potential starter to now being a cut candidate. Things are not going well for the Niners at the wide receiver position, to say the least.
To make matters worse, with all of these wide receiver injuries piling up, the 49ers might have to turn to an unexpected candidate to bail them out. Zane Gelphman of Niner Noise, FanSided's 49ers site, said that with Evans' injury, San Francisco might have to put more stock in De'Zhaun Stribling.
For those who might not remember, the Niners were dunked on for the Stribling pick because they took him early in the second round when he likely would have been available in the third round or even later.
Gelphman said it best when he said, "A De'Zhaun Stribling breakout would mean everything else went wrong" for the 49ers. This is music to Seahawks fans' ears, though, because if the Niners have a clear weakness, it'll make things easier for Seattle as this team tries to cruise to another Super Bowl victory.
If the 49ers are down Evans, Kirk, and Pearsall, Stribling is going to be expected to step up, and that's not a position any team wants to be in. No one wants their controversial second-round rookie to have to be the hero for the team. That was never the plan for San Francisco, and it panning out that way would be disastrous.
For Seahawks fans, however, this is entertainment at its finest. We're obviously not laughing at injuries; that's not cool, but knowing the 49ers took swings to get better and those swings potentially not working out is comedy gold for Seattle.
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