San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall refuses to dwell on the negative as he enters his second NFL season. The former first-round draft pick remains focused on the positives, even after overcoming significant adversity early in his career.
Pearsall's NFL debut was delayed when he was shot in the chest during a robbery attempt, forcing him to miss the first six games of his rookie year. As expected, his return came with a learning curve, but he flashed the playmaking ability that made the 49ers so excited to draft him.
The young receiver didn't allow his early struggles to bring him down.
"My problem is so small compared to the bigger problem out there, and what other people get to deal with," Pearsall told reporters after Thursday's practice. "I never really get too low, I would say. I really just have a similar mindset. I'm on this grass right now. I get to wear this logo. I get to breathe. I'm excited for all those things versus maybe the ball not coming my way. That comes with being a wideout."
Strong finish after a slow start
Pearsall finished his rookie campaign with 31 receptions for 400 yards and three touchdowns, including a late-season surge. In his final two games, he caught 14 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns, highlighted by an eight-catch, 141-yard performance in Week 17 against the Detroit Lions.
"Being a receiver, the ball is not always coming your way," Pearsall said. "That's just what the position takes. Sometimes it just doesn't come your way, and that was kind of happening in the middle of the season.
"Towards the end of the season, when I was getting a bigger role, I started seeing the targets come my direction. It's continuing to build up that confidence."
Returning from injury also created challenges early on.
"I just felt like I was behind the eight ball," Pearsall admitted. "I like to say that I rolled out of bed and started running routes because I damn near did. You can't really rehab a gunshot wound. So I basically rolled out of bed and started running routes—Week 7 or Week 8. So just continuing to get those reps, I think, [was best] for me.
"From that Week 7 and on, that was my training camp. Those practiced in between, before the games, that was my training camp, for me."
Pearsall added, "A lot of success comes from a lot of failure. You've gotta be able to fail and learn from that in order to actually have success."
Hamstring issue slows offseason prep
Pearsall faced another hurdle this offseason when he suffered a hamstring injury late in the team's offseason program. As a precaution, the 49ers placed him on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list to start training camp.
"It was on me. It was doing some extra stuff after practice," Pearsall said, noting that the injury occurred just before organized team activities (OTAs).
The 49ers activated Pearsall over the weekend but are managing his workload carefully, knowing they'll rely on him heavily early in the season with Deebo Samuel gone and Brandon Aiyuk recovering from ACL and MCL injuries.
The team rested Pearsall on Tuesday as part of its plan to avoid another setback. When he has practiced, he has seen no more than eight reps per session.
"It's definitely difficult, just being a competitor, going out there and not getting as many reps as I'm usually used to getting," Pearsall admitted. "It's tough, but it's part of the plan right now, so I'm just sticking to it."
This offseason marks the second straight in which Pearsall has dealt with a hamstring issue, but he's confident it won't linger.
"I wouldn't necessarily call it hamstring issues in the first place," Pearsall explained. "Maybe something is a little unaligned in my body right now. It's just working on that with the trainers, and I think that we've got a really good plan moving forward.
"I've been feeling really fresh, really good running around out there, so we're continuing to build on that."
Ready for a bigger role
With a larger role expected in 2025, Pearsall isn't changing his mindset or preparation.
"To be honest, I'm approaching it the same exact way, whether those guys are in the room or not," Pearsall said. "That's just how I look at myself. I just got to be able to step in that role. That's just how I look at it. I look at myself as being able to be a guy that goes out there and makes plays, and whether they're there or not, that's how I look at myself."
With a positive mindset, an offseason focus on health, and an opportunity to step into a starting role, Pearsall looks poised to be a key contributor to the 49ers' passing attack in 2025.