San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall has been dealing with a knee injury and it kept him out of last Thursday night’s 26-23 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
The 49ers are heading to Tampa Bay on Sunday to do battle against quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Will Pearsall be back in the starting lineup this week?
What’s The Latest on Ricky Pearsall?
According to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, Pearsall did not practice on Wednesday. Pearsall was also not present at Monday’s practice.
At this point, Coach Shanahan mentioned that it’s somewhat possible that Pearsall will be out there and able to catch balls from quarterback Mac Jones. Jones probably will get the start again this week against Tampa Bay while starting QB Brock Purdy, who also did not practice on Wednesday, is still out with a toe injury.
Shanahan: 49ers “not counting on” Ricky Pearsall (knee) playing in Week 6.
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) October 8, 2025
Pearsall and Purdy are just a few of the big names that the 49ers have not been able to put on the field recently. Others sidelined include Nick Bosa (ACL), George Kittle (hamstring), Brandon Aiyuk (ACL/MCL), Jauan Jennings (ankle/ribs), and Malik Mustapha (ACL).
Pearsall, a first-round draft pick (31st overall) by the 49ers in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Florida, has played in four games this season. He has 20 receptions for 327 yards and no touchdown catches. In 15 career NFL games, Pearsall has 51 catches for 727 yards and three touchdowns.
Last season, Pearsall appeared in 11 games (four starts) and amassed 31 catches for 400 yards and three touchdown receptions.
Pearsall also played college ball at Arizona State before transferring to the Gators.
Fantasy Football Outlook for Pearsall
With fantasy football players working on their lineups, what does the outlook for Pearsall’s play in Week 6 look like? PFSN’s Jason Katz and Kyle Soppe offer some words of wisdom.
“A knee injury resulted in Pearsall missing Thursday night’s game last week, something that wasn’t much of a surprise after he mentioned feeling ‘instability’ coming out of Week 4,” Soppe wrote. “I was never a high-level athlete, but I’ve been covering it for a while, and hearing someone self-describe an injury like that isn’t common.
“I’m hopeful that we see Pearsall return this week, but with him being this offense’s primary deep threat (15.9-yard aDOT compared to Jauan Jennings’ 9.8), I’m going to be a week late rather than a week early in inserting him into my lineup,” Soppe wrote.
“Those downfield routes require a connection with his quarterback (which requires said QB to be healthy) and the ability to adjust on the fly to track the ball,” Soppe wrote. “Pearsall can access both of those things with time, but I need assurance on the health side for a full week at the minimum before being tempted to roll the dice here.”
With Pearsall probably out, Jones will have to deal with other wide receivers.