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When will Ricky Pearsall return and play? Will Ricky Pearsall be back again this season? Read the latest Ricky Pearsall injury updates and return date for Week 9 (2025).
The 49ers have had a very rough season from an injury perspective this year, with several key stars missing multiple weeks. In Week 8, they took a tough road loss in Houston and fell to 5-3 heading into another road game this week, this time against the Giants. One key absence for them has been top wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, who looked strong early in the year but has been sidelined longer than initially expected.
In his second season in the NFL, Pearsall got off to a hot start when he was healthy, but he has been sidelined since week 4.
When will Pearsall return to action, and what is his fantasy football outlook when he does? Let's dive in.
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Ricky Pearsall Injury Update
Pearsall was dealing with "a little bit of instability" in his knee before Week 4's game, but tried to play through the injury. After re-aggravating the issue, he left that game early and has not been able to return to practice since. The 49ers didn't place Pearsall on IR, and coach Kyle Shanahan called it a "minor PCL” issue. He said "hopefully it won't be too bad." But here wer are four weeks later, still waiting on him to return to practice.
Here's what Shanahan said when asked about it on Wednesday:
The bottom line, though, is that Pearsall still hasn't been able to practice. He seems unlikely to play Week 9 since he hasn't practiced yet, but he doesn't have a longer timeline either. He's week-to-week, meaning he could return soon, but there's no concrete timeline for him to get back on the field.
Ricky Pearsall Fantasy Football Outlook
Before his knee injury, Pearsall looked primed to step into a larger role. The Niners traded Deebo Samuel Sr., and Brandon Aiyuk (knee) was unavailable at the start of the year while recovering from knee surgery, opening up plenty of playing time for Pearsall. Aiyuk may actually beat Pearsall back since both are "week to week."
When he was available, Pearsall had at least four catches in each of his first four games, with over 100 yards in two of those games. He totaled 20 catches on 29 targets for 327 yards in his four games, working well with both Mac Jones and Brock Purdy (toe) at quarterback. Purdy's return will give the offense a higher ceiling overall, and Aiyuk could also return in the next few weeks to give the 49ers even more options.
San Francisco has been able to stay right in the playoff race despite their injuries, but their offense will be much more balanced and diverse as they get more options healthy. Pearsall could return to his WR1 role once he's ready, or he could slot in behind Aiyuk, but he definitely will be worth starting in most formats once he's back to full speed. For now, he's still worth holding on to even though his return doesn't seem like it will be in Week 9.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 9 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Kimani Vidal, Rico Dowdle, Quentin Johnston, Tez Johnson, Oronde Gadsden, Jordan Mason. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 9. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 9 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 9 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Kimani Vidal, Rico Dowdle, Quentin Johnston, Tez Johnson, Oronde Gadsden, Jordan Mason. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 9.
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 name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' 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 fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
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 circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 9 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 9 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 9 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 9 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Kimani Vidal, Rico Dowdle, Quentin Johnston, Tez Johnson, Oronde Gadsden, Jordan Mason compared to others:
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