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49ers WR Ricky Pearsall is Still Out with a Shoulder Injury

Good thing the 49ers drafted two wide receivers.

Grant Cohn

May 10, 2024; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (14) runs drills during the 49ers rookie minicamp at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. Mandatory Credit: Robert Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports
May 10, 2024; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (14) runs drills during the 49ers rookie minicamp at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. Mandatory Credit: Robert Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports
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What a disastrous offseason for 49ers first-round pick Ricky Pearsall.

He has been injured practically the entire time. He currently has missed the past two weeks with a shoulder injury that will keep him out for another week at least. The 49ers haven't said when they expect to get him back.

Pearsall initially injured his shoulder during OTAs in May -- that's why he wore a blue non-contact jersey during those spring practices. Then in July when he was training away from the facility and preparing for training camp, he pulled his hamtring. This injury cost him the first few days of camp.

When he returned, he was a limited participant in practice. The coaches felt he wasn't ready for the 1-on-1 drills. But they let him participate in 11-on-11 team drills, and that's when he reaggravated his shoulder injury. He was blocking during a running play.

Which means the shoulder injury probably never healed fully in the first place. So now the 49ers have to be extremely cautious with Pearsall. He has a shoulder he has injured twice in the past three months, plus he missed virtually all of training camp. He won't be in football shape for a while, if he ever gets there this season.

It seems likely that he will start the season on the inactive list and gradually earn playing time if he stays healthy. Still, fellow rookie wide receiver Jacob Cowing has impressed in the preseason and could take Pearsall's projected role as the 49ers' fourth receiver and punt returner.

Good thing the 49ers drafted two wide receivers.

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Grant Cohn

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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