Who Should I Start? Ricky Pearsall or Emeka Egbuka

Thursday, May 29, 6:04 PM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (hamstring) is dealing with a hamstring injury and likely won't return to practice until training camp at the end of July, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. It doesn't sound like it's a serious injury for Pearsall, the but Niners won't take any chances with last year's first-rounder after he also dealt with hammy issues going into his rookie season in 2024. The 24-year-old pass-catcher then suffered a gunshot wound to his chest and didn't make his NFL debut until Week 7. He's expected to have a key role in the offense in his sophomore season with Deebo Samuel Sr. no longer in town and Brandon Aiyuk (knee) unlikely to be ready for the start of the season, but Pearsall is going to lose valuable reps this offseason to gain chemistry with quarterback Brock Purdy. Pearsall could still be ready for Week 1, but this news doesn't do anything to dispel the notion that Pearsall is injury-prone.

Friday, May 9, 12:17 PM

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed first-round rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka to a four-year, $18.1 million contract on Friday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Despite the fact the Bucs still have Mike Evans and Chris Godwin (ankle), they elected to take Egbuka out of Ohio State with the 19th overall pick in this year's NFL draft. The 6-foot-1, 202-pound 22-year-old is versatile and can move around the field, but he could struggle for volume in his rookie season in 2025 as long as both Evans and Godwin stay on the field. The addition of Egbuka is bad news for second-year pass-catcher Jalen McMillan. Egbuka was highly productive for the Buckeyes, setting a school record of 205 career catches for 2,868 yards and 24 touchdowns in 49 games. He should be the favorite to be Tampa's WR3 this season and will be a very attractive dynasty/keeper draft pick for the long term.