There was significant excitement surrounding Ricky Pearsall's potential entering the season. The San Francisco 49ers wide receiver showed encouraging chemistry with quarterback Brock Purdy, leading many to believe Pearsall could emerge as a breakout performer in 2025.

That momentum, however, was derailed by injuries. Pearsall was among several 49ers players sidelined throughout the year, missing eight regular-season games and a playoff contest while battling a lingering PCL injury. He was never able to return to full strength, acknowledging during the postseason that his mobility and explosiveness were limited.


"It's one of those injuries that it's not going to heal up until I'm fully rested and done, and I can't do that right now, obviously," Pearsall said of his physical limitations ahead of the 49ers' playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks. "So, just getting it back to being manageable. But yeah, just any explosive movements, honestly."

Pearsall was targeted twice in that game and finished without a reception. The receiver failed to have the impact that many hoped.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed Pearsall's availability during the 49ers' end-of-season press conference on Wednesday. He was asked if there are things Pearsall can do in the offseason to put himself in a better position to be more available in 2026.

"Yeah, I thought he did that last offseason, though," Shanahan said. "I thought Ricky had an awesome offseason this year. He got through all of training camp, was one of our few wideouts who did all of training camp, I think, minus the first five days. And I thought he went into the season much more ready than the year prior."

Shanahan noted that Pearsall added weight, trained the right way, and entered the season prepared to contribute immediately. Before suffering the injury, Shanahan believed Pearsall's performance matched what showed up on film.


"I think if you guys saw the film or you saw his stats, the stats did match the film," Shanahan said. "I think he was leading the league in a lot of categories before he got hurt, I want to say versus Jacksonville. And then he landed on his knee in the wrong way. And when you land on your knee in the wrong way, and you hurt your PCL, sometimes that can last a week—like [Rams WR] Puka [Nacua] last year—sometimes it can last seven weeks."

Pearsall missed Weeks 5 through 10 while recovering from the initial injury. He later aggravated the issue, sidelining him in Weeks 16 and 18 and keeping him out of the Wild Card playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Shanahan characterized the late-season setbacks as unavoidable rather than the result of poor preparation or being injury-prone.

"Can he prepare to not land on his knee? No," Shanahan said. "He's trying to, too. 'What do I have to do different?' I'm like, 'Let's talk about what you did do, and then, let's talk about what happened.' So, I think the main thing from last year is what can we do to come back from that faster? When you do come back, what can we do to maybe not redo it, so it doesn't linger?"

Despite dressing for nine regular-season games, Shanahan estimated Pearsall truly played at full capacity in only four of them.


"He was Ricky for four games, and that didn't have to do with how he went into this year," Shanahan said. "That had to do with an injury that he had in Week 4. And those are tough to overcome, but I think he found the right way last year and he'll keep adding to it."

There is no doubt in Shanahan's mind that a fully healthy Pearsall in 2026 could still be the breakout weapon San Francisco envisioned when they made him a first-round draft pick in 2024.

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