49ers Have Some ‘Concern’ About WR Ricky Pearsall’s Knee

It’s hard to call Pearsall injury-prone, despite the fact that he’s only appeared in 20 of a possible 34 games through two seasons. The 31st pick of the 2024 draft missed the first six games of his rookie year, but he can hardly be blamed as those absences were caused by a gunshot wound to the chest. Pearsall worked his way back for a Week 7 NFL debut and, in his third game, made a strong impression with four catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. He would only catch two balls over the next five games but would close the season with 14 catches for 210 yards and two touchdowns in Weeks 17 & 18 combined.

Despite starting training camp on the active/physically unable to perform list with a hamstring injury, Pearsall picked up Year 2 right where he left off. Before suffering his Week 4 knee injury, Pearsall reeled in 20 catches for 327 yards. Pearsall missed six games as head coach Kyle Shanahan remarked that the young wideout had not been able to “hit his normal speeds that would allow him to come back.” Pearsall eventually was able to return to play five of the final seven games of the regular season, but he never quite got to full health as the knee continued to plague him down the stretch.

Per Wagoner, Pearsall did not participate in San Francisco’s practice today on account of “swelling in the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee” — the same injury that cost him so much time last year. According to Vic Tafur and Matt Barrows of The Athletic, Pearsall might even “be looking at surgery.” The fact that Pearsall didn’t ever undergo surgery last year led to his six-week absence without an appearance on injured reserve, but that could be detrimental if the injury never healed and leads to a procedure that will force him to miss even more regular season time.

The team has a well-timed rest day tomorrow, but there appears to be serious concern that, once again, Pearsall may be in danger of missing time. San Francisco has looked forward to opening the year with Pearsall competing for targets with fellow starters Mike Evans and Christian Kirk, but the 49ers may need someone like Demarcus Robinson, De’Zhaun Stribling, Jordan Watkins, or Jacob Cowing to step up if Pearsall if forced to miss any of the regular season.