It took longer than anticipated, but wide receiver Ricky Pearsall is officially back in action for the San Francisco 49ers. His return couldn’t have come at a better time.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday said Pearsall was slated to be a limited participant in the day’s practice. That’s a significant step for Pearsall who has been a non-participant in practice since sustaining a knee injury in Week 4 vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The initial prognosis was that Pearsall would only miss a couple of weeks. That couple of weeks extended to six weeks due to the injury not healing the way the team hoped it would.
While having Pearsall sooner would’ve helped, getting him back for the final seven games is enough to give the 49ers’ offense a significant lift right when they need it.
Injuries have left the 49ers’ defense depleted to a point that getting stops against even marginal offenses could become a challenge. To combat that, there’ll be a need for some offensive fireworks from San Francisco. While they have playmakers like George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey, their receiving corps has been lacking.
Having a field stretcher like Pearsall who is so effective at getting open in the middle of the field will give the 49ers’ passing game an explosive element it hasn’t had since the 2024 first-round pick went down with his injury.
Thursday and Friday will give us a better idea of Pearsall’s potential availability for Week 11, but a return to practice to begin the week is the first positive sign from him in a long time.
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