Ricky Pearsall missed Wednesday’s practice with swelling in his right knee, a setback that sent a fresh jolt through a San Francisco 49ers camp already carrying too many injury notes for the first week of work. Pearsall had injured the same knee in Week 4 last season, and the team is concerned about him.
The timing matters because Pearsall was set to start opposite newcomer Mike Evans, giving the 49ers reason to watch every rep he misses. He also missed six games last season after hurting his PCL, which is why a new flare-up in the same knee immediately raises the question of whether this is a short pause or something more serious.
Wednesday offered a mixed snapshot of the offense around him. Brock Purdy was 14-of-18 during the team portion of practice, Mac Jones finished 11-of-15, and Kurtis Rourke was 5-of-5 with the third-team offense. That part of camp at least looked orderly, even as the receiver group lost a player the team had hoped to lean on.
What makes the Pearsall setback harder to dismiss is the larger picture around it. The 49ers spent more on equipment and staff to protect player health after a heavily injured season, then added a jog-through session every fifth day to cut down on wear and tear. Three practices into camp, though, they were already dealing with Pearsall, Jordan James after a rib fracture on Monday, Malik Mustapha with a strained hamstring, and Christian Kirk, Vederian Lowe and Gracen Halton after injuries at Sunday’s first practice.
That gap between the plan and the reality is the story of camp so far. The 49ers changed the schedule to keep players fresher, but the bodies are dropping anyway, and Pearsall is the one they cannot afford to lose for long. Assistant head coach Chris Foerster is scheduled to speak Friday, and that should bring the first real answer on whether the right knee swelling is a brief flare-up or the start of another longer absence.
