49ers activate Ricky Pearsall off PUP list in time for Sunday’s practice

As expected, the San Francisco 49ers have activated wide receiver Ricky Pearsall off the active/physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Pearsall missed the first three training camp practices but is on the field for Sunday's session—the final workout before the team's first padded practice on Monday.

Pearsall is sporting his new jersey number, switching from No. 14, which he wore as a rookie, to No. 1.

Hamstring injury managed with caution

Pearsall had been sidelined with a hamstring injury that also forced him to miss time at the end of the 49ers' offseason program. While he was initially expected to be ready for the start of training camp, his PUP designation came as a mild surprise. However, team brass emphasized that the move was purely precautionary.

"Ricky had a bad hamstring in OTAs," head coach Kyle Shanahan explained when camp began. "I mean, not real bad—a normal one. He's good now. He's hit all his miles per hour—he's fine. We just haven't seen him the last two weeks.

"We're not going to throw a wideout out there the first three days. We don't want to pull it again until we see his conditioning and everything, which we should get in three days, and then he should be good."

Pearsall looking to build on rookie season

The second-year receiver is coming off an abbreviated rookie campaign after missing the first six games of 2024 while recovering from a gunshot wound. He went on to record 31 receptions for 400 yards and three touchdowns across 11 games (four starts).

The team had planned for Pearsall to return in time for Sunday's practice. Shanahan recently outlined the approach to his ramp-up period.

"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."

Pearsall's return provides a much-needed boost to a 49ers receiving corps already facing early adversity. Brandon Aiyuk is still recovering from ACL and MCL injuries, a hamstring injury has sidelined Jacob Cowing, and veteran Jauan Jennings is seeking a new contract as he enters the final year of the two-year deal he signed in 2024.