After a shortened rookie year, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall played in fewer games during his second year in the league, missing eight games this season, including the 49ers’ Wild Card Weekend matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
After getting cleared to go for the Divisional Round game against the Seattle Seahawks, Pearsall was nowhere to be found throughout the game.
What Happened to San Francisco 49ers WR Ricky Pearsall?
After missing the 49ers’ Week 18 matchup against the Seahawks, he wound up playing in just nine games during the 2025 season, catching 36 of 53 targets for 528 yards and no touchdowns. He also missed San Francisco’s matchup against the Eagles in the Wild Card Round, but with the 49ers emerging victorious, he was able to fight back from his lingering PCL injury and start for the 49ers in the Divisional Round.
However, while looking good in pregame warmups, the second-year wideout was held without a catch despite getting two targets from 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.
Here’s Ricky Pearsall running routes here in pregame #49ers | #FTTB pic.twitter.com/1iaVgaBbCv
— Matt Lively (@mattblively) January 17, 2026
Taken in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Pearsall was supposed to be the next great wide receiver for the 49ers. While the potential has been clear, availability has been a major concern for the talented wide receiver in his first two seasons.
Even in the nine games he did play this season, he was held to under four targets on three separate occasions, finishing with just 20 receiving yards combined in that trifecta of games. However, when he was available, the talent level was immediately apparent.
In his six other games, he tallied 508 receiving yards, with two separate 100+ yard games on the year. According to PFSN’s WR Impact Metric, Pearsall finished the regular season as the 19th-ranked receiver in the league. However, it did not alleviate the injury concerns that have made him so unreliable during his first two seasons.
Despite missing almost half the season and countless other weapons throughout the year, the 49ers still rank fourth in the league according to PFSN’s Offense Impact Metric, with a score of 85.2. Unfortunately for them, they faced the league’s third-ranked defense, according to the PFSN’s Defense Impact Metric, with the Seahawks earning an impact score of 88.4 this season.
It was evident as the 49ers’ offense struggled all night to get anything going, being held out of the end zone in the 41-6 loss. The losses mounted, and while they had an incredible run, the holes in the roster became too much to overcome. Pearsall, Purdy, and the 49ers will turn to the 2026 season.
