Coming off what turned out to be a dreadful, injury-riddled 2024 campaign, the San Francisco 49ers hope that the 2025 season will be a better and healthier one for their organization. Unfortunately, things got off to a rough start on those fronts, based on the players the team placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.
49ers placed WRs Brandon Aiyuk and Ricky Pearsall on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 18, 2025
Niners fans expected to see Brandon Aiyuk's name there. Aiyuk suffered a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus last season, ending his year after just seven games. Ricky Pearsall, though, was expected to be healthy by the time training camp began. Just look at what head coach Kyle Shanahan had to say about Pearsall after the wideout missed OTAs and minicamp with a hamstring injury.
"Ricky had a hamstring, nothing serious. He is really pretty good now. We’re just being safe, so he’ll be good by training camp," Shanahan said.
Peasall's placement on the PUP list would suggest the opposite. He, in fact, is not good by training camp.
Ricky Pearsall injury has 49ers fans panicking
This is nothing short of a brutal outcome for the 49ers. Again, Aiyuk was expected to be out, and there's even a chance he won't be ready when the regular season begins. Pearsall, though, was supposed to be fine. Now that he evidently isn't, the Niners are in a bit of a tough spot.
San Francisco is hoping that Aiyuk, Pearsall and Jauan Jennings will be their three starting wideouts in the regular season with Deebo Samuel now with the Washington Commanders. Well, Aiyuk and Pearsall are out for who knows how long, and Jennings looms as a holdout candidate as he hopes to sign an extension. There's a real chance the Niners will be without all three wideouts when training camp begins, immediately putting Brock Purdy in a difficult spot.
How can Niners fans not panic at this point? They saw how last season went when the injuries piled up, and now, they're beginning to pile up before training camp even begins. Given the fact that Shanahan was so off about Pearsall's recovery time, Niners fans have no idea when they can realistically expect him to even be back.
Pearsall suffering an injury would be one thing, but the fact that the fans were blindsided, given Shanahan's comments, makes the situation worse. Niners fans hope to see a big year from the 2024 first-round pick, but this injury has him starting on the wrong foot.