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The San Francisco 49ers’ wide receiver room had the potential to be very problematic, not just in training camp but also into the early stages of the regular season.
With No. 1 receiver Brandon Aiyuk still recovering from last year’s ACL and MCL tears, news of second-year pro Ricky Pearsall dealing with a hamstring issue that forced him to land on the physically unable-to-perform (PUP) list wasn’t ideal. Especially when coupled with fellow wideout Jauan Jennings’ apparently false trade request amid extension talks and subsequent news of Jacob Cowing also suffering a hamstring injury.
True, the Niners subsequently responded by adding two free-agent receivers, Equanimeous St. Brown and then Quintez Cephus. But neither should be viewed as serious game-changing additions.
No, San Francisco will want Pearsall back. And soon.
Fortunately, it sounds like that’ll be the case.
Kyle Shanahan gives positive Ricky Pearsall injury update
Speaking to reporters from camp, head coach Kyle Shanahan provided an update on Pearsall that’ll be relieving.
“Ricky is someone that, if this was probably a few years ago, we would’ve practiced him today,” Shanahan said when asked if Pearsall could have been on the field despite landing on the PUP list. “When you hit your GPS speed, your max speed that you hit before you were hurt, when you can run all those routes that’s usually your protocol to go back.
“He hit all that stuff over the weekend, which we felt good about, but we wanted to make sure his conditioning was right. So we’re just doing that for three days and if you can continue to hit all that stuff and his conditioning’s good I’d be surprised if he wasn’t out there Sunday.”
It sounds like Pearsall is ready to go, but Shanahan and Co. merely want to be a little more cautious, especially in light of other injuries and developments.
Plus, the 49ers aren’t planning on donning pads until Monday’s camp sessions, which means the opening round of practices still emulate what’s seen during offseason workouts.
Either way, it’s good news for the Niners as they aren’t expected to be without their top pick from the 2024 draft for much longer.