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Ex-49ers DB blasts team, says they 'failed' injured WR Ricky Pearsall
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- Ex-49ers DB blasts team, says they 'failed' injured WR Ricky Pearsall
Former San Francisco 49ers safety Donte Whitner isn't buying San Francisco 's handling of Ricky Pearsall's knee injury .
Whitner questioned the 49ers' decision not to operate on Pearsall's PCL at the end of last season, noting that the timeline now ends with the receiver undergoing season-ending surgery.
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"Did the 49ers fail Ricky Pearsall by not requiring PCL surgery at the end of the season? The timeline raises serious questions," Whitner said on The Grit Code Podcast . "A grade two PCL is not a bruise. It is a partially torn ligament with looseness in the knee. So even if the pain improves, that does not mean the ligament is ready for cutting, stopping, and NFL contact."
Whitner argued the team may have "cleared the pain before they cleared the ligament" and called for Pearsall to seek an independent evaluation going forward, separate from the team's medical staff.
"Somebody failed the kid here," he said, adding he worries Pearsall "will probably never get the opportunity to be a number one receiver again after this surgery."
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Pearsall's injury dates back to Week 4 of the 2025 season, when he first hurt the knee against the Jacksonville Jaguars . He tried to play through it, aggravating the PCL again in a December game against Tennessee — a contest in which he caught six passes for 96 yards despite also spraining his ankle. The 49ers and their medical staff opted against surgery in the offseason, hoping rest and rehab would resolve the issue. That plan fell apart when swelling returned days into training camp .
The 31st overall pick in the 2024 draft out of Florida, Pearsall's career has been defined by setbacks. He was shot in the chest during a robbery attempt days before his rookie season, delaying his NFL debut until October. He finished that year with 31 catches for 400 yards and three touchdowns. In 2025, knee and hamstring issues limited him to nine games, in which he caught 36 passes for 528 yards.
Pearsall, who turns 26 in September, has a recovery window of six to 12 months and a targeted return for the 2027 season. San Francisco responded by re-signing Deebo Samuel to fill the void.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Ex-49ers DB blasts team, says they 'failed' injured WR Ricky Pearsall
