49ers announce Ricky Pearsall will miss the 2026 NFL season

San Francisco’s 49ers announced on Saturday that wide receiver Ricky Pearsall will miss the 2026 NFL season. The decision, made public by the team, immediately reshapes the organization’s planning at a position group that becomes especially important as training camp approaches.

Pearsall, who previously played college football at Florida, has been part of the 49ers’ recent roster plans as a receiver. With him sidelined for the full 2026 season, San Francisco will need to rely more heavily on the other players already on the depth chart and whatever complementary options emerge from its offseason evaluations.

The announcement does not change the broader NFL reality that seasons are built around availability. For teams like the 49ers, losing a receiver before the year begins can affect how they design packages, build continuity for third-down targets, and distribute opportunities across the passing game.

Because this report is based on the team announcement as relayed in the published account, the specific medical or procedural details leading to the absence are not included here. That matters for how fans and evaluators understand the timeline, and it also limits how confidently outsiders can project a return window.

What is clear is that the 49ers will treat 2026 as a season without Pearsall. The most immediate on-field question becomes how the team’s remaining receivers absorb expanded roles and how new combinations settle in at full speed once the season’s practices and preseason games begin.

With Pearsall out, San Francisco’s offseason focus will likely shift toward strengthening reliability in routes, catching in traffic, and creating separation consistently across the playbook. Those needs are most visible early in the year, when teams often learn quickly which chemistry transfers from practice to game planning.

For 49ers supporters, the story to watch next is not only who takes on Pearsall’s targets, but also whether San Francisco addresses the vacancy through roster moves before the regular season begins. Until then, the team’s internal depth chart and camp performances will carry the weight of the answer.