San Francisco 49ers receiver Ricky Pearsall has been sidelined by a knee injury and there is no timeline for his return. The 49ers said Wednesday that Pearsall is dealing with swelling in the right knee that is related to the posterior cruciate ligament injury that forced him to miss eight games in the 2025 regular season. The team is concerned that the knee is still an issue after Pearsall participated in just two practices in training camp and is evaluating all options.
Pearsall is one of several 49ers dealing with injuries early in training camp. Running back Jordan James is out with broken ribs suffered on Monday and safety Malik Mustapha is out with a hamstring strain. They join a list of injured players that also include receiver Christian Kirk (calf strain), swing tackle Vederian Lowe (high ankle sprain) and rookie defensive lineman Gracen Halton (bruised knee bone).
The injury to Pearsall is potentially the most significant with him being counted on to play a big role in the passing game this season. Pearsall has flashed when he is healthy, but has struggled to stay on the field since being drafted in the first round in 2024. He missed most of training camp as a rookie with a shoulder injury and then was shot in a robbery attempt just before the start of that season.
Pearsall returned to make 31 catches for 400 yards and three TDs in 11 games. Pearsall was slowed early last summer by a hamstring injury, but got off to a fast start to the season with 20 catches for 327 yards in his first four games before going down with a knee injury in Week 4. He missed the next six games and had only five catches for 20 yards in his first three games back.
Pearsall then had six catches for 96 yards the following game against Tennessee before reaggravating the knee injury. He missed two of the final three regular-season games and the playoff opener before being a nonfactor in a divisional round loss to Seattle. Pearsall has 67 catches for 928 yards and three TDs in 20 games over two seasons.
The injury to Pearsall opens opportunities for other receivers competing for the starting spot alongside Mike Evans. Rookie De’Zhaun Stribling had another impressive practice on Wednesday with injured coach Kyle Shanahan once again watching for the final 50 minutes as he recovers from a recent car crash. Veteran Demarcus Robinson also made several catches during 11-on-11 drills Wednesday.
"It’s going to be fun to watch that room kind of become what it does over this next however many weeks of training camp," offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said before practice. "It’s one of the positions where we have a lot of competition and I’m excited to see where it goes." The 49ers also waived defensive ends William Bradley-King and Andrew Farmer and signed defensive ends Quinton Bell and K.J. Henry.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
