Should the 49ers be Concerned About Ricky Pearsall's Durability?

Pearsall is supposed to be the explosive element in the 49ers offense this year. They need him to be healthy.

Dec 30, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (14) during the game against the Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

When the 49ers traded Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders this offseason, they did so largely because he misses games every season. Which made sense. Samuel certainly is injury-prone.

Unfortunately for the 49ers, his replacement, Ricky Pearsall, might be even more injury-prone than Samuel.

Pearsall will miss all of OTAs and minicamp with a hamstring injury he somehow suffered during Phase 1 of the offseason before practices even began. Last year, he missed most of OTAs and minicamp with a subluxed shoulder, then missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury. Which means Pearsall has injured his hamstring twice now.

Pearsall doesn't seem like the kind of young player who shows up to OTAs out of shape and injures himself trying to do too much too quickly. Rather, he seems like the kind of young player who puts too much pressure on himself to live up to his first-round pick status and overtrains in the offseason.

Whatever the reason, Pearsall never will reach his full potential if he can't stay healthy for a full training camp. That's where young players improve because they get to practice almost every day.

The 49ers won't be able to build their passing game around Pearsall this season if they can't count on him to be on the field. Instead, they'll have to feature Jauan Jennings simply because he's more dependable.

Pearsall is supposed to be the explosive element in the 49ers offense this year. They need him to be healthy. If he keeps getting injured, the 49ers will have to sign a different wide receiver.