With Brandon Aiyuk still rehabbing from ACL and MCL injuries and Jacob Cowing suffering a hamstring injury on Wednesday, the San Francisco 49ers are in need of reinforcements at wide receiver. Fortunately, help could be on the way as soon as this weekend.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan expects second-year wideout Ricky Pearsall, who opened training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, to return to practice on Sunday.
"Ricky is someone that, if this was probably a few years ago, we would've practiced him today (Wednesday)," Shanahan said. "When you hit your GPS speed, your max speed that you hit before you were hurt, when you can run all those routes, that's usually your protocol to go back.
"He hit all that stuff over the weekend, which we felt good about. But we wanted to make sure his conditioning was right. So we're just doing that for three days, and if you can continue to hit all that stuff, and his conditioning's good, I'd be surprised if he wasn't out there Sunday."
Sunday will mark the 49ers' fourth practice of training camp and their final session without pads. It also comes after a scheduled off day on Saturday, giving Pearsall additional time to prepare for the ramp-up.
Pearsall could be poised for a breakout year
Don't be misled by Pearsall's modest rookie numbers—31 catches for 400 yards and three touchdowns. He missed the first six games of 2024 after being shot in the chest during an attempted robbery but showed flashes of potential down the stretch.
Pearsall had a strong finish to his rookie campaign, recording 14 catches for 210 and two touchdowns in the 49ers' final two games. Many believe he's poised for a sophomore breakout season.
Cowing's injury setback
Meanwhile, Cowing—also a 2024 draft pick—was having a strong offseason and looked ready to impress in training camp before his setback.
"I thought Jake had one of the best OTAs out of anybody on our team in terms of most-improved, the most prepared for it," Shanahan said. "Unfortunately, I think he pulled his hamstring on routes on air today before we started. So, I'd say to just keep on his trajectory. Hopefully, he can stay healthy and keep going to where he did in OTAs, but probably had a little setback today.
"So hopefully, that's better news than what we're guessing out there, and he can get back, and get back to what he was doing in OTAs."
It remains to be seen how much time Cowing will miss, but the 49ers are hopeful he can return quickly and help strengthen the team's receiving corps.