There's one offensive player turning heads at San Francisco 49ers training camp—Ricky Pearsall. The second-year wide receiver opened camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list due to a lingering hamstring injury, but has since returned to practice and looks poised for a breakout season.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan joined Bay Area radio station KNBR on Wednesday and praised Pearsall's work ethic and growth.
"One, I thought Ricky had one of our best offseasons," Shanahan said. "Him and Jake Cowing started about a month earlier than everyone else. They were here grinding with Dustin Perry, our strength coach, and they really made a huge jump, I thought, this offseason. Jake was able to show it throughout OTAs, and Ricky wasn't. He ended up pulling his hamstring right before OTAs, and he's kind of gotten a late start to camp.
"But these last five practices, he's been out there, he's been able to stack some days up, and it's really showing, the work that he put in this offseason, adding some strength, adding a little bit more size, and just making himself a little bit more ready for a 17-game season, which is always such a grind for these guys.
"But he went through it last year. He knows how long it is, he knows what to expect, and I think he's prepared himself right, and he's having a hell of a camp so far."
Pearsall finished his rookie season with 31 receptions for 400 yards and three touchdowns, despite a delayed debut after being shot in the chest ahead of the regular season—a setback that forced him to miss the first six games. He closed strong, recording 14 catches for 210 yards and two touchdowns over the final two games, showcasing why San Francisco made him a first-round draft pick.
Shanahan acknowledged that with Deebo Samuel gone and Brandon Aiyuk recovering from ACL and MCL injuries, there are roster spots up for grabs at wide receiver.
"There's a number of spots up," Shanahan said. "Ricky missed the first week. Jake Cowing, he pulled his hamstring in individual drills on the first day. Hopefully, we'll get him back next week. You have B.A., who's still on PUP, so he does count on your roster, but he's not able to go. You have Jauan [Jennings], who's battling an injury, so there's been a lot of room for guys to get a lot of reps.
"There's guys running with the ones at times right now that, on the first day of camp, they were running with the threes, and that's a huge opportunity for those guys because you never know how it's going to end up. You never know when guys are going to be healthy when they're not, and the roster is open for a lot of dudes."
Klay Kubiak likely to call plays during preseason
Shanahan, who typically handles offensive play-calling duties, confirmed that offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak will call plays on Saturday against the Denver Broncos—and possibly throughout the entire preseason.
However, he added that the emphasis on who calls the plays for the 49ers is often overblown.
"I haven't decided for the whole time, but I know he'll do it this week, and he'll most likely do it through the whole preseason," Shanahan said. "But I've got so much confidence in Klay, just how good of a job he's done for us, how long him and I have been working together here, that it doesn't bother me in the season [either]. There's times that Klay will call plays, there's times that I will, and I do think that it's a little bit overrated on who's doing it.
"For the most part, not much is going to change. That's something that I really enjoy doing, something that I've always worked at and have a lot of experience of, but we work on the game plans all week together. ... Usually, when you get to game day, you have an idea of everything that you're going to call in each situation, and it can be a little bit overrated, but that's why I have no problem, at any time in this season, letting Klay take a series or two or whatever it is, because I don't think there's that much difference in what we're doing."
Will the starters play against the Broncos?
Shanahan stressed that practice holds more value than preseason games. That's why he doesn't expect his starters to play much—if at all—on Saturday against the Broncos, especially with the two teams set to hold a joint practice together on Thursday.
The coach was asked if fans should expect to see players like Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, and Ricky Pearsall on the field this weekend.
"I'd be surprised if we saw much of them in the first game," Shanahan said. "I like to not come to my final decision until I see how practice goes tomorrow. But just the guys you mentioned right there, I'd be real surprised. Something would have to happen in practice tomorrow for me to play them in the game.
"I would like to get them in the other two, but we'll see how it goes. I put a lot more into the practices. Games can be good, but they're also a little bit more of a pain. You don't know how the game's going to play out, you don't know how everyone's tied together.
"You're obviously tackling a lot more, you're going to the ground a lot more. There's a lot more risk of injury, and there's not that much you need to find out in a game from these guys that you can't find out in practice. So, you take that all into play. But I'd be surprised if many of those guys you're asking about will be going on Saturday."