Ricky Pearsall injury update: Latest on 49ers WR for fantasy football Week 5 

Ricky Pearsall was added to the San Francisco 49ers roster in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft to add another offensive threat to a team that had just been to the Super Bowl last season. However, fans have yet to see him on the pitch after he suffered a shooting incident on Aug. 31, right before the season began.

That has been a big miss for San Francisco. The franchise also missed Brandon Aiyuk throughout the offseason as he held out for a contract and has looked rusty on his return. Christian McCaffrey has not featured this season either with a nagging Achilles issue and other offensive stalwarts have not always been available.

The 49ers are currently 2-2 and lost two games on the bounce against the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings before righting the ship against the New England Patriots last week. Having Ricky Pearsall available to take on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5 would be ideal so that they can finish with a winning record after the game. Here is what that possibility looks like.

Week 5 update on rookie 49ers WR Ricky Pearsall

After the shooting incident, Pearsall was put on the injured reserve which necessitated that he remained out of training for four weeks. With Week 5 coming up, that means he should be able to return to practice and target some game time.

However, given the seriousness of the injury, head coach Kyle Shanahan said that he did not see opening up the rookie's practice window this week. However, he confirmed that the 49ers wide receiver is back in the facility and close to making it back.

"I know he is really close. When he’s good to go, himself and the medical staff, we'll be pumped to have him back," Shanahan said.

Therefore, for fantasy football managers, he is ruled out for Week 5 as he will neither practice nor play in the game against the Cardinals.

That could be a significant miss as Pearsall could have contributed in a tight NFC West division. While the 49ers were favorites for it before the season began, the Seattle Seahawks have set the early pace and are 3-0 for the year. Even the Cardinals and Rams are just one game behind San Franciso with identical 1-3 records.

Therefore, Week 5 will be a crucial matchup for the 49ers. With Brock Purdy playing quarterback and Kyle Shanahan running the offense, they will be favored to win the game. But they will have to chase victory without their first-round pick of this year's draft as he is still not ready to return right away.