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Is Ricky Pearsall out for the season? When is Ricky Pearsall coming back? The latest Ricky Pearsall injury update and fantasy football outlook heading into 2026.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (knee) is the first major injury to fall in training camp, which immediately shakes up his fantasy value.
Pearsall didn't miss a single game in his collegiate career due to injury, but his path to fantasy football relevance has been rocky, and the latest injury further complicates his outlook.
Pearsall has played in just 20 games in two seasons in the NFL of a possible 34, due to an unfortunate shooting incident and a smattering of other ailments. Will his latest injury issues hold him out for all of 2026?
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Is Ricky Pearsall Out for the 2026 Season?
Earlier on Thursday, reports from the 49ers suggest there is some "concern" over his lingering knee injury as he is dealing with swelling in his right knee. Nick Wagoner of ESPN reported that the team is exploring "all options" for the young wide receiver. Additionally, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports added that it is "reasonable, rational, logical, for the 49ers to NOT expect Ricky Pearsall to make any contribution in 2026."
It looks like there's a strong chance he'll at least miss a lot of time, if not be held out for the whole year, according to the most up-to-date information. Pearsall has been dealing with a lingering PCL injury since September of 2025. He dealt with multiple hamstring strains in both 2024 and 2025, but had appeared to move past those. This latest injury is a bigger deal.
PCL injuries are complicated. They're not as straightforward as ACL tears, which require surgery to repair and have well-established recovery timelines. Often, surgery is not recommended, and recovery is possible with intensive rehab. But Pearsall has now had four total injuries and/or flare-ups of the same issue extending back to nearly a year ago.
Ricky Pearsall 2026 Fantasy Football Outlook
Even if he does play, his fantasy upside is likely greatly diminished overall. If he suits up, he could still see some spike weeks, but it may not be overly projectable. Drafting him with a mid-round pick just seems like a bad idea, though, and it's hard to imagine him not needing surgery to move past his PCL issue permanently now.
So what should fantasy football managers do in response? In redraft leagues, the answer is to draft wide receiver Mike Evans, especially if you can get him in the fifth round or later. While it might be easy to get excited about opportunities for rookie wideout De'Zhaun Stribling, he was never highly productive in college but was selected with an early Day 2 pick (33rd overall).
Instead, managers should expect star running back Christian McCaffrey and veteran tight end George Kittle to see an even greater uptick in opportunities.
#49ers WR De’Zhaun Stribling could become a very important offseason addition very quickly with the recent injuries pic.twitter.com/beRiiyEjkP
— 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙎𝙁𝙉𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨 (@TheSFNiners) July 29, 2026
While Evans has also been highly injury-prone in recent years, he was still quite productive when on the field in 2025 and should quickly emerge as the alpha in this offense.
MOSSED 🤯
📺: #ATLvsTB on Prime Video pic.twitter.com/ZCTy1FHaCN
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) December 12, 2025
Evans has made a strong case to make the Hall of Fame, and an explosive year in his age-33 season would likely cement his case for Canton. He's the player you should target, and savvy managers should buy the injury discount on Kittle as well.
Who Should I Draft Fantasy Football Tool
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2026 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Brock Purdy, Brandon Aiyuk. These are some common searches for 2026 fantasy football drafts.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Draft? button to see who the recommended draft picks are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.
Improvements For Who Should I Draft? You may have noticed our Who Should I Draft? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your 2026 fantasy football drafts. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats and projections, ADPs, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick interface. We hope you enjoy!
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Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Draft Searches. Curious to see some tough draft decisions for 2026? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Draft? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Draft
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Draft tool for 2026 drafts for Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Brock Purdy, Brandon Aiyuk:
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