San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall’s Week 16 performance won’t be defined by the box score.
The statistics show Pearsall hauled in all four of his targets for 37 yards. The four receptions tied his career-high and were his most since Week 10. The 37 yards were the third-highest mark of his career and also his most since Week 10.
His strong day was derailed by a pair of illegal formation penalties that came four plays apart in the third quarter. The second of that duo nullified a third-down conversion that would have set the 49ers up at the Dolphins 2-yard-line with a chance to erase a six-point deficit. Instead, the 49ers were pushed to a third-and-13 and eventually settled for a 41-yard field goal that was missed.
After the drive, 49ers wide receivers coach Leonard Hankerson was shown by the CBS broadcast yelling animatedly at Pearsall on the sideline.
Ricky Pearsall getting some pointers on the sideline
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) December 22, 2024
Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday told reporters in a conference call that the interaction wasn’t any cause for concern.
“Ricky loves to be coached and he doesn’t take things personal,” Shanahan said. “I think he was just as upset about it. Sometimes when there’s a lot of things that he’s trying to focus on and stuff and he forgets one little thing, which can end up being a big thing, especially the play that happened with it. And I mean, I didn’t see Hank, but I’m sure you saw his frustration, but that’s how we all were and that’s how Ricky was. And sometimes that’s what comes out naturally, which sometimes can get a guy to focus a little bit harder too.”
Those small mistakes can make a big difference in games, and it’s easy to see why a rookie would make them. That’s especially true for Pearsall who didn’t get much practice time in training camp because of hamstring and shoulder injuries, and then missed the first six weeks of the regular season after being shot through the chest.
Ideally these kinds of errors will be behind Pearsall moving forward as he gets more reps in the offense. The good news is he’s shown enough flashes as a pass catcher to be optimistic about his chances to be a regular contributor in 2025.
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