49ers’ Ricky Pearsall Jr. fights off ankle, knee injuries to torch Titans

SANTA CLARA The ers and coach Kyle Shanahan are adamant that there s nothing wrong with Ricky Pearsall Jr that a meager opportunities wouldn t solve Queries about Pearsall s lack of involvement over the last couple of weeks have clearly left Shanahan annoyed Yeah I was getting annoyed too Pearsall reported with a wry smile Sunday following a - win over the Tennessee Titans at Levi s Stadium Pearsall demonstrated what makes him special against Tennessee catching six passes for a game-high yards with smooth routes and acceleration his best competition statistically since Sept when he had eight catches for yards against Arizona He also revealed what makes him frustrating injuring an ankle on the first play of the contest and then leaving with a knee issue of undetermined severity No big deal Pearsall announced all part of the event Just as waiting for his turn in the flow of the challenge is part of the battle The trouble was at least in terms of outside perception that Pearsall and Purdy hadn t looked sympatico in up-to-date weeks In his previous three games Pearsall was targeted just nine times by Purdy with five receptions for yards When that sort of thing happened on Deebo Samuel s watch it likely would have brought a cryptic complaint or two on social media Samuel s in Washington now and even with Pearsall battling soundness issues it s a good thing for the ers Pearsall even assumed Samuel s No jersey even if his personality couldn t be more different Shanahan maintained that Pearsall didn t do anything different than the last three games other than have the ball thrown his way It s something I had to learn the last minimal weeks Pearsall reported It s not about stats It s about the flow of the meeting and the impact I can make without the ball in my hands The harder I go run blocking and running my routes the more Christian McCaffrey and the other guys are going to eat too It s just trusting in that and to be ready when the ball does come my way With Samuel gone and Brandon Aiyuk on the reserve left squad list and likely never to return it s up to Jauan Jennings and Pearsall to be the top outside threats Jennings can catch passes in a phone booth while trapped with a defender Pearsall brings a different element with his ability to break into the clear He can run any course in the passage tree and I think it s his ability to beat man coverage and his hands too McCaffrey mentioned about Pearsall He s an elite route-runner and can get open In this offense when you have someone who s as dynamic as that the ball is going to find him Purdy and Pearsall teamed up for an -yard gain at the outset and there was one early misfire the only pass attempted to Pearsall that he didn t catch There was a perfect Purdy throw for yards on a third-and- that was exquisitely timed and a -yard laser on a rollout for a first down that Pearsall caught in stride and ended up being caught at the -yard line If there are any questions about Purdy s ability to drive the ball they should be shelved after that throw Ricky Pearsall Jr turns his ankle after being tackled by Tennessee's Kevin Winston in a - win for the ers at Levi's Stadium Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group The balancing act for Purdy has been executing the offense to specifications while at the same time wanting to get Pearsall more involved He did both against Tennessee completing of passes for yards and three touchdowns and also keeping George Kittle eight receptions yards and a touchdown and Jennings three catches for yards and two touchdowns in the mix Ricky and I are honest with each other We talk about routes and concepts and after a play he comes back he tells me what I saw and I tell him what I saw Purdy declared Ricky s got such a good heart He wants to do what s best for the band He s never going to go out of his way to complain about targets He understands his moments and opportunities will come Nowadays was one of those days but we ve all been itching to get him involved Although durable in college at Arizona State and Florida Pearsall has dealt with shoulder and hamstring issues and a September PCL strain that cost him seven games And that doesn t even include being shot in a robbery attempt last August before his rookie season and miraculously surviving without serious ramifications So there s an element of suspense when Pearsall visits the injury tent as he did late when his knee began acting up Shanahan declared he hopes it s just irritation from the previous PCL strain I don t think Ricky was much different than he was the last month Shanahan disclosed of Pearsall s competition and whether he was more featured Sunday in the ers offense It just worked out that way and the ball came that way and he made the plays when it did I think it says a lot about him to fight through it and get out there and have a great productive tournament Pearsall is uninterested in detailing his aches and pains noting correctly that games into a season practically every teammate has something going on physically Related Articles Kurtenbach Brock Purdy has the ers offense dancing before the big dance What the ers commented after beating the Titans Stanford legend Wiggin coach during The Play dies at Studs and Duds Purdy dazzles Pearsall dominates in ers win over Titans Instant analysis of ers - preeminence over the Titans for th win of season That first play I got twisted and tangled and my ankle got caught when I landed Pearsall reported That s just part of the encounter You just go back wrap the ankle and see if you can go And I feel like I can go He called the knee injury just certain old stuff I wouldn t say I m super concerned he explained of the knee I don t know what s really going on with it I ve got to get specific imaging done to see exactly what it is but it s apparently the same stuff I was dealing with before At least I know how to manage it now Headed into a three-game gauntlet against Indianapolis Chicago and Seattle the ers need Pearsall to be at his best if they hope to climb into a playoff spot which could bring them a home meeting It looked Sunday as if Pearsall is up to the task unless the MRI says otherwise