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SANTA CLARA — Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall’s health is again in limbo for the 49ers’ 2024 first-round pick.
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Pearsall’s right knee is being examined after it swelled up only two practices into training camp.
A posterior cruciate ligament injury to the same knee sidelined him eight games last season plus the wild-card playoff upset at Philadelphia.
After Pearsall had no catches on two targets in the divisional-round exit at Seattle, the 49ers went on a hunt for receiving help this offseason, having also moved on from Jauan Jennings and Brandon Aiyuk.
Wednesday’s practice, thus, saw the 49ers pepper passes to newcomers Mike Evans and second-round pick De’Zhaun Stribling, not to mention veteran Demarcus Robinson and the 2025 injured duo of Jordan Watkins and Jacob Cowing.
Afterward, the 49ers auditioned a trio of free agent receivers: D’Wayne Eskridge, Alex Bachman and Stanford product Trenton Irwin.
When Pearsall caught a 20-yard pass from Brock Purdy over the middle in Sunday’s first practice of camp, all seemed right in their offensive universe. Passes kept coming Pearsall’s way, including one from Mac Jones on a route closely studied from the get-go by coach Kyle Shanahan, who’s been observing well behind the defense as he recovers from a July 14 concussion.
Pearsall caught three passes in a six-snap span as Monday’s practice came to a close. It’s unknown whether he participated in Tuesday’s jog-thru.
His health issues are well known, however, after a sturdy college career. Nothing was more alarming than a life-threatening gunshot wound through his chest two years ago by an attempted robber in San Francisco’s Union Square, and that injury delayed the start of his NFL career by six games.
When healthy, Pearsall has shown an ability to break open fast as a sure-handed target. He had a 10-catch, 141-yard outing against Detroit in the penultimate game of his rookie year, then went over the 100-yard mark twice in the first three games last season, only to bang that right knee and injure his PCL the following week against Jacksonville. He finished with no touchdowns among 36 catches for 528 yards.
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While Evans’ 6-foot-5 frame makes for an ideal split end and red zone hero, Pearsall figured to start at flanker, a motion-based role that complements Purdy’s short- to intermediate-range passes. For Stribling to seize that “Z” position, he must continue to show proficiency in the playbook as it expands over the coming weeks, offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak noted Wednesday.
Kirk sustained a calf strain in Sunday’s first practice of camp. Popular targets beside Stribling and Evans on Wednesday were Robinson, Cowing and Watkins, the latter of whom Kubiak praised for taking a “big step” from an injury-plagued rookie season.
RUNNING BACK ROTATION?
Second-year running back Jordan James came out of Monday’s practice with a fractured rib. That spurs memories of last year’s camp, when finger and knee issues set him back as a rookie.
That could further open the door for rookie Kaelon Black to become Christian McCaffrey’s top backup. McCaffrey has been impressed with Black, who turns 25 in October. “He’s a pro. He came in and you can tell he’s mature, knows how to work and learn,” said McCaffrey. “… He’s stacked, man. You can definitely see it. He’s played at a high level of football, he’s played mature football. He’s exactly what you’d want a rookie to come in and be like.”
D-LINE SHUFFLE
The 49ers’ depth at defensive end is a growing concern, with camp injuries prompting them to add Quinton Bell and K.J. Henry after Tuesday’s workout. Waived injured, in corresponding roster moves, were William Bradley-King and Andrew Farmer.
While Nick Bosa is limited to position drills and individual conditioning as part of his ACL comeback, Mykel Williams’ ACL rehab is taking place on the side while he is on the Physically Unable to Perform list into perhaps the regular season.
Promising rookie Romello Height returned to action Wednesday after leaving Monday’s practice lying flat on a cart with severe cramps. Height continues to rotate on the first-string unit with Keion White and Sam Okuayinonu. Former Bengals reserve Cam Sample and undrafted rookie Mikail Kamara are newcomers in the mix.
EXTRA POINTS
Starting safety Malik Mustapha is dealing with a hamstring strain. Thus, Marques Sigle and Ji’Ayir Brown worked as Wednesday’s first-string safeties, although all three of those players have been rotating this camp. … Eddy Piñeiro made his first five field-goal attempts of camp, then missed wide from about 50 yards on his final try. … Jack Jones intercepted Mac Jones’ first pass of practice by high-pointing the ball in front of Cowing. … Upton Stout and Darrell Luter Jr. broke up passes. … Stribling’s best catch came when he soared high over the middle to snare Adrian Martinez’s 15-yard pass.
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This story was originally published July 29, 2026 at 11:42 AM.