Who Should I Start? Jaxon Smith-Njigba or Ricky Pearsall

Tuesday, August 4, 12:25 PM

San Francisco 49ers former first-round wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (knee) will have season-ending knee surgery on his PCL, and because surgery for his type of knee injury is extremely rare, it's hard to say whether he'll ever be able to return to his pre-injury form, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. Most isolated PCL injuries heal on their own, but Pearsall's did not. Dr. Prem Ramkumar said that surgery for an isolated PCL injury is so rare among pro athletes that there isn't enough data to predict whether Pearsall will return to his pre-injury form next season. Reconstructing a damaged PCL often doesn't provide substantially more stability than allowing the ligament to scar and heal without surgery. The 25-year-old former 31st overall pick in 2024 from the University of Florida is a full-blown injury risk after just two seasons in the league, in which he played in just 20 games (13 starts). Pearsall was set to be a big part of San Fran's passing game alongside veteran Mike Evans this year, but that's out the window now. He's obviously off the board in redraft leagues in 2026, and fantasy managers in dynasty/keeper leagues don't have a lot of incentive to buy low on Pearsall at this point.