The plan to gradually bring rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall back into the game after being shot in the chest didn’t last long for the San Francisco 49ers.
With Brandon Aiyuk out for the season due to a torn ligament in his right knee from Sunday’s game, Pearsall quickly shifts from being a backup option to one of the main players on the offense.
“There are definitely a lot of opportunities for us,” Pearsall said Wednesday about himself and fellow rookie receiver Jacob Cowing. “Obviously, it sucks seeing a guy like B.A. go down — one of our leaders on the team, big playmakers and one of my close buddies who I’ve known for a really long time.
It hurt my heart to see him go down. … Now we have a lot of rookies who need to step up like myself.”
The Niners are lacking playmakers on offense with Aiyuk out for the season and All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey unable to play due to Achilles tendinitis, which has kept him sidelined since August.
The status of two other top receivers is also uncertain this week, as Deebo Samuel missed practice on Wednesday after being released from the hospital, where he spent two nights due to pneumonia, and Jauan Jennings is dealing with a hip injury that may keep him out for a second straight game.
Pearsall had three catches for 21 yards in his first game, playing 48 snaps in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. There were some mistakes, including a wrong route he ran on his first target of the game that resulted in an incompletion late in the first half.
“It was just a communication error,” Pearsall said. “Obviously, we haven’t had many reps at that together, me being out. I was just a few yards too deep. I can cut that a little shorter, and the ball would’ve been right on my chest.”
After spending most of his practice time at the “X” receiver position, which lines up on the line of scrimmage, Pearsall had chances to play from the slot and off the line on Sunday due to all the injuries.
Coach Kyle Shanahan said he was happy with how Pearsall performed in that role and wants to build on it this week when San Francisco faces Dallas.
“I think he’s wired to run every route as a receiver,” Shanahan said. “Ricky is a plug-and-play with all routes. It’s not like he has a small route tree and only can do certain things, so he can run the whole tree.”
This versatility was one of the reasons the Niners chose Pearsall in the first round of the draft in April with the 31st pick. He missed most of training camp because of injuries to his hamstring and shoulder but was ready for the opener when he was shot in the chest during a robbery attempt in San Francisco’s Union Square on August 31.
He was hospitalized for one night but didn’t suffer damage to any organs or nerves and was back working out at the team facility the following week. He returned to practice for the first time last week before making his debut, which he hopes to improve on in the coming weeks.
“I saw a lot of room for improvement,” he said. “Obviously being out of training camp and this period of time for the season, there’s a lot of opportunity for me to get better. I just have to go back and do that and grind and do what I normally do and work hard.”
