The San Francisco 49ers will be without one of their most promising playmakers for the rest of the season. Ricky Pearsall, the team’s 2024 first-round wide receiver, is scheduled to undergo surgery on his right knee after damaging his posterior cruciate ligament, general manager John Lynch announced Saturday.
Pearsall was shut down after just two practices in training camp because of swelling in the knee. The procedure to repair the PCL will end his season, another setback for a player who has flashed promise during two interrupted NFL seasons.
The 49ers selected Pearsall with the 31st overall pick in the 2024 draft. As a rookie, he missed most of training camp with a shoulder injury and then was shot in an attempted robbery before the season began. He still appeared in 11 games in 2024, recording 31 catches for 400 yards and three touchdowns.
Pearsall appeared ready to break out in his second season. At the time, it seemed he was primed to make the jump as the team’s No. 1 receiver after he caught 20 passes for 327 yards in his first four games. A knee injury then forced him out of the next six games. When he returned, his production dipped, with five catches for 20 yards over three games.
He later had six catches for 96 yards against the Tennessee Titans before reaggravating the knee injury. He missed two of the final three regular-season games and the playoff opener, then was a nonfactor in the 49ers’ divisional-round loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Across two NFL seasons, Pearsall has 67 catches for 928 yards and three touchdowns in 20 games. His limited playing time also makes it unlikely the team will pick up his fifth-year option for 2028 next spring.
The 49ers have already moved to address the loss. They signed former All-Pro Deebo Samuel to a one-year deal worth up to $7 million. Samuel spent his first six NFL seasons with San Francisco before being traded to Washington in 2025 for a fifth-round draft pick. With the Commanders last season, he had 72 catches for 727 yards and five touchdowns. He became a free agent in March and will rejoin the 49ers to help fill the void created by Pearsall’s absence.
Samuel brings a proven track record. He has 406 career catches for 5,519 yards and 27 touchdown receptions and has long been considered one of the league’s most dangerous players after the catch. His average of 8.7 yards after the catch on receptions ranks first among all receivers with at least 100 catches since 2019. He has also added 1,218 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns in 97 games.
The receiving group will look much different for San Francisco. The team added Mike Evans in free agency and selected De’Zhaun Stribling in the second round of the draft. With Samuel back in the fold and Evans and Stribling joining the offense, the 49ers will have a revamped set of targets.
Pearsall’s latest injury is another chapter in a career that has already included a shoulder injury and a shooting incident before his rookie season. He fought back to contribute in 2024 and showed flashes of being a reliable target before recurring knee trouble intervened. Now the 49ers will have to move forward without him for the rest of this season.
