A new report suggests that the San Francisco 49ers drafted wide receiver Ricky Pearsall despite evidence of a worrisome shoulder injury.
When the 49ers used their top pick in April’s draft to select Florida Gators star Ricky Pearsall, there was some surprise around the NFL. Firstly, because they had a pair of star receivers already on the roster in Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. Plus, some talent evaluators thought Pearsall could be had later in the event.
Nevertheless, when he got on the practice field the 23-year-old immediately turned heads and showed the potential that made San Francisco use the 31st overall pick on him. Yet, that was short-lived because Pearsall has seen limited time this summer due to an ongoing shoulder issue.
The joint gave him trouble in OTAs and then early in training camp. It has led to him being ruled out of the entire last week of training camp practice and their final preseason game against the Raiders. It’49s made 49ers fans wonder if there is a greater problem bugging the young receiver. And it seems it is an issue that was lingering even before he was drafted.
San Francisco 49ers knew about Ricky Pearsall’s injury before the draft, ‘hoped it wouldn’t be a thing’
On Friday, San Francisco Chronicle 49ers reporter Mike Silver revealed during a local radio appearance that the organization drafted Ricky Pearsall despite being well aware that he already had issues with his shoulder.
“The other component of that is Pearsall, who looked amazing in the like 1.5 practices he was actually healthy since they drafted him but has a shoulder thing that is now recurring and worrying over the long haul, something they knew about before they drafted him and were hoping wouldn’t be a thing,” Silver said [h/t Pro Football Talk].“
It is not a good look for the San Francisco 49ers that Pearsall might have been a reach at pick 31 but they still did it even though he had a problematic injury they “were hoping wouldn’t be a thing.” Well, now it is and his availability in Week 1 is now uncertain.
Also Read: Where do the San Francisco 49ers land on our latest NFL offense rankings?