July 4, 2026, 3:39 p.m. PT
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall hasn’t had the ideal start to his young career. After the team selected him in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, he was shot and missed a good chunk of his rookie year.
Then, in 2025, the former Florida Gator battled injuries that limited his time on the field and lessened his impact when he was out there.
Heading into his third year with the 49ers, NFL.com analyst Nick Shook believes that Pearsall will show signs of improvement.
“Pearsall’s career has known nothing but unexpected interruptions,” Shook wrote. “Before he even took the field for a regular-season game, Pearsall suffered a gunshot wound during an attempted robbery in San Francisco, forcing him to miss the first six weeks of his rookie season. In 2025, Pearsall battled a hamstring injury that landed him on PUP and later sustained a PCL injury, limiting him to nine games.
“San Francisco’s receiving corps certainly could have used more help in 2025 and the club acted accordingly in 2026, luring Mike Evans away from Tampa, adding Christian Kirk and spending the first pick of the second round on De’Zhaun Stribling. Consequently, Pearsall will operate in a deeper receiver room that won’t allow opposing defenses to key on him, setting up the 25-year-old for a breakout season — provided he can stay on the field.”
Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.
In just 20 games played over the last two seasons, Pearsall has caught 67 passes for 928 yards and three touchdowns. San Francisco probably hoped that the wideout had that kind of production in a season, but the gunshot and injury issues have been a lot to overcome.
Heading into 2026, Pearsall should be healthy, and we could finally see the impact he can make.
More 49ers: 49ers QBs have dominated this boring pass stat since 2006