Mac Jones has done a good job so far as the San Francisco 49ers backup, effectively using the team’s available weapons despite his limited experience. However, one of those weapons will now be unavailable: wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, who is officially out for the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
According to a report from Adam Schefter, Pearsall was ruled out by the 49ers for the Buccaneers game at the same time Brock Purdy was also placed on the unavailable list, leaving Jones with at least Christian McCaffrey as a major threat.
Pearsall is currently the 49ers’ second-best receiver in terms of yards with 327 and, as of last week, was one of only three NFL receivers with 300-plus receiving yards without scoring a touchdown, a feat he has yet to achieve.
Shanahan Had Previously Issued a Warning
It was known since October 8 that there was little chance Pearsall would be available for the Buccaneers game, as Kyle Shanahan himself stated: “We were hoping last week that he would get in this week. He wasn’t able to Monday, and he’s not able to today. We’ll see if there’s a turn Thursday or Friday, but not counting on it right now.“
With Pearsall sidelined by injury, Jones loses an option for passing targets, but the depth chart still offers available personnel like Kendrick Bourne, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore, and Demarcus Robinson.
Running backs like Christian McCaffrey will have to help by catching passes while Pearsall recovers. While not the ideal solution, Jones and the 49ers will utilize every available option as they push to win another game as quickly as possible.
