Dan Lanning hints at star Oregon WR returning before season ends

Just before the Ducks turned their attention from offseason training to the start of the 2025 regular season, Oregon announced that star wide receiver Evan Stewart had torn his patellar tendon and could likely be out for the entirety of the season.

Stewart, who joined the Ducks in 2024 after starting his career with the Texas A&M Aggies, earned more than 600 yards last season, tacking on five total touchdowns to the dominant Oregon offense.

The news of his injury hurt the Ducks' hope for a veteran wideout leading the offensive unit, but clearly, Oregon has been just fine so far this year. However, when head coach Dan Lanning teased that Stewart might return before the year ended, it made the ears of fans all over the country perk up.

"It's going great, and it'll be interesting to see when we're able to get him back," Lanning said on Zach Gelb's SiriusXM talk show. "He's attacking his rehab and hopefully he's one that we can see before the season's done."

Lanning made sure to clarify that Stewart is simply taking it day by day, but is also taking his rehab as seriously as possible to ensure that he can return to the game as soon as possible.

After two years with the Aggies, Stewart transferred to join a dominant receiving corps for the Ducks, alongside Tez Johnson, Traeshon Holden, and Terrance Ferguson.

Despite being surrounded by the strong wideouts and tight ends, Stewart made an immediate impact on the team, especially when he had one of the most spectacular (almost touchdown) catches of the season last year when Oregon visited the Michigan Wolverines.

While Lanning didn't say when Stewart would return, the optimism is a promising outlook on the Ducks' future this season, especially as Oregon flies toward another possible berth in the College Football Playoffs.

With or without Stewart on the depth chart, No. 6 Oregon takes on No. 3 Penn State this Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PT. The Big Ten matchup will be aired on NBC and Peacock.