Tuesday has not been a great day for the San Francisco 49ers. Shortly after star receiver Brandon Aiyuk requested a trade, the team placed first-round pick Ricky Pearsall on the non-football injury list. The rookie wide receiver is eligible to be activated at any point during camp, but will still count against the team’s 90-man roster.
Given Aiyuk’s trade request, Pearsall’s inclusion on the team’s NFI isn’t great timing as San Francisco is a week away from the start of training camp. It was largely assumed that the selection of Pearsall in the first round of April’s draft was for insurance purposes in the event that the 49ers’ receiving corps loses one of its top weapons over the next year, whether that’s Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel. The 49ers also extended wideout Jauan Jennings‘ contract earlier this offseason, thus adding more speculation to the futures of Aiyuk and Samuel.
The 6-foot-1 Pearsall started his college career at Arizona State before ending it at Florida. During his two seasons with the Gators, Pearsall caught 98 passes for 1,628 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 16.6 yards per catch. He had three 100-yard receiving efforts last year that included his 10-catch, 166-yard, one touchdown performance during the Gators’ road win over South Carolina.
“He’s a guy who, throughout the process, we liked early, and it kept getting stronger,” 49ers general manager John Lynch said shortly after the team drafted Pearsall. “Does a lot of things well. Does a lot of things we covet at that position well. We believe we have a real strong group there, and we wanted to add another player. Ricky is a very versatile player, and also has some punt return value that we think will come in handy.”
Pearsall joins a 49ers offense that is littered with talent. Along with Aiyuk, Samuel and Jennings, the group includes standout running back Christian McCafferty, perennial Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle, 11-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Trent Williams and quarterback Brock Purdy.
