49ers insider: It’s reasonable to expect Ricky Pearsall to miss the 2026 season

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall has already missed 14 games through his first two NFL seasons, and now his entire 2026 campaign could be in jeopardy.

Pearsall battled a PCL injury during the 2025 season, but the expectation—or hope—was that the issue would heal naturally during the offseason. His recovery appeared to be trending in the right direction until the start of 49ers training camp, when the young receiver experienced renewed swelling in his knee.

The 49ers and their fans entered the offseason hoping Pearsall would take a major step forward in his third NFL season. Instead, there is now a legitimate possibility that the former first-round pick could require surgery and miss the entire 2026 season.

The 49ers have said they are exploring all available options for Pearsall, but NBC Sports Bay Area insider Matt Maiocco believes the situation has become increasingly concerning for the wide receiver.

"If surgery is required, he's going to miss the season," Maiocco said on Bay Area radio station KNBR. "He's going to miss the entire season."

Maiocco explained that the 49ers chose not to have Pearsall undergo surgery earlier in the offseason because the team believed the injury had a chance to heal without an operation. Additionally, a procedure performed earlier may not have significantly improved his chances of returning during the 2026 season.

"If they had decided to have the surgery, say in February or March or whenever, you're not giving it the full time to recover on its own, but also you're probably going to miss the season anyway," Maiocco said. "So I think that they made a calculated attempt to hope that thing would heal on its own, like it often does. And once it didn't, or it hasn't, now it's time for the 49ers and Ricky Pearsall to decide what they want to do."

The decision to delay surgery was a calculated risk. If Pearsall had undergone the procedure earlier in the offseason, it potentially could have improved his chances of being ready for the 2027 season. However, waiting to see if the injury improves naturally before potentially needing surgery later could now impact his availability beyond 2026.

At this point, Maiocco believes the 49ers should prepare for a season without contributions from Pearsall.

"So at this point, I think it's reasonable, rational, logical for the 49ers to not expect Ricky Pearsall to make any contribution in 2026," Maiocco added. "And so, it really kind of amplifies how important it was for the team to select De'Zhaun Stribling where they did, with the 33rd overall pick. A pick, at the time, I think a lot of people thought was kind of a luxury pick. But now, it's looking more and more like a necessity."