Ricky Pearsall played many more snaps than most expected on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Neither Pearsall nor the San Francisco 49ers coaching staff expected him to play so much. The plan was to gradually increase the rookie's workload following his NFL debut, just seven weeks after being shot in the chest.
Jauan Jennings' unavailability, Brandon Aiyuk's injury, and Deebo Samuel's illness forced Pearsall into a bigger role. With Aiyuk now on injured reserve and Samuel's recent battle with pneumonia, Pearsall could be asked to shoulder an even heavier workload moving forward.
Speaking to reporters before Wednesday's practice, Pearsall was asked if he was excited about Sunday's upcoming game against the Dallas Cowboys. His response was perfect.
"I'm excited for today," Pearsall said. "I'm excited for anything. I'm excited for practice today, all the meetings. That excitement doesn't change for the games. I just go in there and I'm playing football at the end of the day, the same sport I've been playing since I was six years old.
"But with this role coming up right now, I'm definitely looking forward to that, having more opportunities."
Head coach Kyle Shanahan believes that Pearsall's increased playing time will help him quickly find his comfort zone during his first NFL season.
"The more he plays, the better he's going to get," Shanahan told reporters on Wednesday. "He got that. You could see throughout the week in practice, and then it's only going to help him going forward, getting more reps in the game than anticipated with the guys going down. So, I expect him to get more comfortable each week."
Shanahan has confidence in the first-round pick, believing Pearsall has the skill set to contribute early.
"I think he's wired to run every route as a receiver," Shanahan said. "I think Deebo's the one who's more unique, just in terms of using him as a running back and things like that, but Ricky is a plug-and-play with all routes. It's not like he has a small route tree and only can do certain things. He can run the whole tree."
However, Pearsall has not had much practice time. A shoulder injury kept him out for most of training camp, and the August 31 incident sidelined him until last week, when the 49ers opened his practice window.
Shanahan offered a measured response when asked if Pearsall could contribute at all receiver positions.
"He knows how to do it on paper and stuff, but just like everyone, you need a lot more reps to be able to do all three spots," Shanahan explained. "But he did a good job adjusting in the game. He went in the game only playing one spot, and a couple injuries happened, just like always, so you've got to be prepared for 'next man up,' and he didn't have any busts at the new position.
That's what you always do. I mean, you only get five up on game day, sometimes four. We try to get six, if we can, roster-wise, if we have some injuries, but that's how wideouts are. You've got specific spots for guys, but someone goes down, and you've gotta roll everyone to other spots."
Pearsall reflected on his performance in his first NFL action.
"I saw a lot of room for improvement," Pearsall admitted. "Obviously, being out of training camp, and then for this period of time in the season, there's a lot of opportunity for me to get better, and I just gotta go back and do that. Just grind, do what I normally do, work hard, and take one play at a time."
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