San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was placed on season-ending injured reserve on Saturday after a flare-up of a posterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee during the team’s first week of training camp. According to 49ers general manager John Lynch, Pearsall will have surgery in the coming weeks.
Kurt Benkert Agrees With Ricky Pearsall’s Injury Assessment
On Monday, 49ers analyst Grant Cohn blamed the franchise on X for rushing back Pearsall from his injury last season.
“The 49ers should have put Ricky Pearsall on IR when he injured his PCL in September last year,” Cohn wrote. “Instead, they rushed him back seven weeks later when his knee still was compromised, just as they initially rushed Brock Purdy back from his turf toe injury. That’s their fault.”
Former NFL quarterback Kurt Benkert, who was part of the 49ers’ practice squad in 2022, agreed with Cohn’s assessment of the Pearsall situation.
“100%,” Benkert wrote under Cohn’s post.
100%.
— Kurt Benkert (@KurtBenkert) August 3, 2026
Pearsall injured his PCL in September, forcing him to miss six weeks of game time before returning to action. He missed two more games before returning for the 49ers’ Divisional Round game against the Seattle Seahawks.
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The recovery timeline for a PCL injury is between six and 12 months. According to former Los Angeles Chargers team doctor David J. Chao, a PCL injury recovery is less reliable than an ACL and could even threaten Pearsall’s career.
Since being selected No. 31 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, Pearsall has only played 20 games. The former Florida Gators standout’s NFL career has been plagued by injuries, including a shoulder injury during his rookie training camp, a gunshot wound, and a hamstring issue last year.
During last week’s segment of the “Sports Leader KNBR” show, NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco broke down why the 49ers opted to keep Pearsall away from the surgery table.
“Well, the idea was, or the thought would be, that it would heal on its own through the offseason, and it doesn’t appear as if that has happened,” Maiocco said. “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.
“So I think that they made a calculated attempt to hope, I guess, 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.”
Pearsall earned a PFN WR Impact score of 71.6, No. 55 in the league after tallying 528 receiving yards on 36 receptions.
