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49ers WR Mike Evans to wear No. 5 jersey for 2026 season

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones04/15/26brianjones_93

Mike Evans will have a different jersey number when he makes his San Francisco 49ers debut later this year. He recently appeared on Fred Warner‘s Real Ones podcast and said that he will wear No. 5 for the 2026 season.

“That’s my high school football number, my little league number, and my middle school number,” Mike Evans said. In his 12 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Evans wore No. 13. Another big reason the star wide receiver is changing to No. 5 is that QB Brock Purdy wears No. 13 and has had that number for his entire career.

Pro Football Talk mentioned that wide receiver DeMarcus Robinson wore No. 5 for the 49ers last season and is still on the roster. Since Evans will wear No. 5, Robinson likely received incentives from his new teammate for the number switch.

Along with wearing No. 13 in Tampa, Evans had the number during his time at Texas A&M. During his time with the Aggies, Evans was named an All-SEC First Team and a consensus All-American in 2013 after catching 69 passes for 1,394 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Why Mike Evans signed with the 49ers

The Buccaneers selected Evans in the first round (No. 7 overall) in the 2014 NFL Draft. During his time with the Bucs, Evans was selected to the Pro Bowl six times, named to the All-Pro First Team twice, and helped the team win the Super Bowl during the 2020 season.

In March, Evans signed a three-year contract worth up to $42.4 million with the 49ers. After signing his contract, Evans explained why he wanted to play on the West Coast.

“I did my research on a lot of teams that I was looking at… Here, the Buffalo Bills, teams that needed a number one wide receiver,” he said. “I like this place, this is my number one spot on my own. And then I talked to John [Lynch] and Kyle [Shanahan], and it solidified it for me. I’ve always been a fan, and he just talked about how he sees me in this offense, and it just made me even happier. It was a no-brainer, really.

“But George was the biggest salesman.
George sold it big time, and he’s a big reason why I’m here, just because the type of player and teammate that he is.”