49ers WR Ricky Pearsall sat out training camp practice due to a swollen knee, raising some concern about his availability.
Ricky Pearsall's fantasy outlook just took a serious hit heading into draft season. The knee swelling stems from a PCL injury suffered back in 2025, and the fact that the 49ers are weighing surgery that could cost him all of 2026 is the real red flag here — this isn't a minor camp tweak, it's a lingering structural issue that never fully resolved. An insider's suggestion that he's "unlikely to contribute" in 2026 lines up with that surgical timeline and should be taken seriously even though it's more speculative than the injury report itself.
For draft prep, you need to treat Pearsall as a significant risk, not a value pick based on last year's flashes. Until San Francisco clarifies whether he's having surgery — and what recovery timeline that entails — his workload projection is essentially unknowable, and unknowable usually means avoidable in redraft formats. If you're in a dynasty or keeper league, this is a hold-and-monitor situation rather than a sell-low panic, since a torn or degrarded PCL recovery can still allow for a return later in the season if surgery is avoided or minimally invasive. But in single-season leagues, draft him only as a late-round dart throw with zero expectation of early-season snaps, and be ready to pivot immediately if news breaks confirming surgery.
Confidence here is moderate-to-high on the injury details themselves (multiple sources, 75% confidence) but lower on the season-long absence framing, which comes from a single insider report at 60% confidence. Keep him rostered in dynasty, but don't bank draft capital on him in any format until the 49ers give a clearer surgical/recovery update.
49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall is out of practice due to swelling in his knee related to the PCL injury he suffered during the 2025 season and the 49ers said on Wednesday that they are considering all options to address the injury.