San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall is set to make his return this Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, marking his first action since suffering a PCL injury in Week 4. The second-year player recently shared details about his recovery and journey back to the field.
On Thursday, Pearsall was asked if he expects to play this weekend. He deferred to head coach Kyle Shanahan—unaware that Shanahan, during a simultaneous radio interview, had just confirmed the wideout would suit up for the divisional matchup.
"He's had a good week," Shanahan said. "He's done some good things. We've got to be smart with him, easing him back in. That's why he's been limited this week. You can't just throw a guy out to run all these routes as much as you do when you've been out six weeks. But he did a little on Wednesday, did a little bit more today, but he'll be good to go for Sunday."
Pearsall returned to practice for the first time on Wednesday and has impressed the coaching staff. The receiver expressed his excitement about being back on the field with his teammates.
"It's always frustrating when you get something taken away from you like that," Pearsall said. "Just playing football, that's part of the game. Sometimes you get banged up, but yeah, it sucks. Anytime I don't get snaps and I'm not out there with my guys, it sucks for sure."
The 49ers opted not to place Pearsall on injured reserve, hoping for an earlier return. While his recovery took longer than initially expected, Pearsall emphasized that there were no setbacks—just the natural timeline for a PCL injury.
"If you look at how PCLs recover, especially for skill guys like me, playing receiver, having to cut off this leg, doing speed cuts, stuff like that, it's not an easy process just to turn around in a week and come back," Pearsall explained. "Initially, yeah, I was telling myself to come back as quick as possible, and it just didn't turn out that way."
Pearsall added that he has been waking up each day with the mentality that he would practice, but it wasn't until this week that he truly felt like himself again.
"Anytime I start feeling like myself, that's when I feel like I'm ready to go," Pearsall said. "I'm not the type to not push through pain. I'm going to still push through pain. This ain't nothing to me. I've been through way worse. I feel like, this week, I've been feeling like myself more."
As for the previous weeks, Pearsall said, "If I'm being honest, I was having pain. I was trying to get to the point where I could push through it, and I feel like I can now."
He also acknowledged that his teammates, including tight end George Kittle, helped him maintain a positive mindset while he was sidelined.
"I've got guys around me, like George right here, to keep me upbeat and have a positive mindset," Pearsall said. "It just makes it that much easier. Just coming here with a good mindset, being positive each day, it just makes it that much easier having good guys."