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Many joke that the NFL stands for Not For Long. That is because players, coaches, and teams can look great one minute and be irrelevant the next. The term Not For Long could be applied to Ricky Pearsall despite only entering his third season. However, the San Francisco 49ers are about to be staring down a tough decision with Pearsall after this season, and if he does not have a massive year, his days with the team are likely numbered, per Jacob Infante of Pro Football Network.
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San Francisco 49ers have a major decision to make with Ricky Pearsall in 2026
Pearall is a tough debate because when he is healthy, he has proven to be productive. However, the games in which he is active are limited, and the games in which he is fully healthy when active are even smaller.
So far, he has played 20 games and 13 starts over the past two seasons. Pearsall only has 928 yards over that time. He averaged a below-average 1.31 yards per route run during his rookie year. However, that jumped to 1.68 in his second NFL season. He has produced, but not enough.
The 49ers will have to decide on a fifth-year option for Pearsall. At this moment, that projection is expected to be over $15M. If they do not pick up his fifth-year option, Pearsall would enter the last year of his rookie deal and would be staring down free agency.
This puts the 49ers in a tough spot.
First, if Pearsall plays well and they pick up the option, that is still just one year out of three when he was healthy. That is a lot to project for guaranteeing his next two years’ salary. Of course, if Pearsall plays over the next two years, and the team does not have the option placed on him, his fifth-year salary will either be more than the team wanted to pay, or he will not even be on the team.
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So, even if the 49ers do not place the fifth-year option on him, it puts them in a spot where they have to debate extending him after his third year, or being comfortable with the idea that his fourth NFL season will be his last with the 49ers. If he plays well, he will price himself off the team. If he struggles, they will not want him back.
It makes for a do-or-die season for Pearsall and the 49ers.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/49ers/onsi as Ricky Pearsall Is Running Out of Time With the San Francisco 49ers.
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This story was originally published July 5, 2026 at 12:00 PM.