On July 30, The Athletic’s Vic Tafur and Matt Barrows reported that Ricky Pearsall is one of the players that the San Francisco 49ers have lost due to injury as training camp is in its early stages.
The report notes that Pearsall is dealing with swelling in his right knee, the same knee he injured last season when he suffered a PCL injury. Moreover, the article by Tafur and Barrows reveals that the 49ers are concerned about this latest injury to Pearsall.
With this news, former NFL wideout T.J. Houshmandzadeh is urging for San Francisco to reunite with a familiar face in Deebo Samuel.
“I can’t count on Ricky Pearsall,” Houshmandzadeh said on the July 30 edition of “Speakeasy.” “That’s what I said. You can’t count on him. I can count on, and I know I can rely on Deebo Samuel. I know I can. And then this [injury news] comes out.
“When you’re a receiver and you start having these lower-body injuries this early in training camp, on the first or second day, we’re going to have to monitor this for the rest of the season. Now we’re getting it drained. Now we’re doing this.“
Deebo Samuel Would Be More Reliable for the 49ers
Moreover, Houshmandzadeh noted that Samuel makes sense for the Niners because the team will know the veteran will be available and won’t have the constant injury issues Pearsall has had during his short NFL career.
“You shouldn’t be taking days off, but now we’ve got to monitor this and give you days off,“ Houshmandzadeh added. “Oh, we really need to see you every day because you need to show us that you can do this, that we can trust what you bring to the table and to the team.
“Oh, you’re not even available. So now let me go get somebody that I know can get it done. So, Deebo, man, get ready to go back to the Bay. At least that’s what should happen because I was saying this: they need him. They need somebody who’s proven.”
Last season with the Washington Commanders, Samuel played 713 total snaps, leading to a 69.4 overall PFF grade. Moreover, he hauled in 72 receptions on 99 targets for 727 receiving yards and five touchdowns while averaging 10.1 yards per reception and generating 471 yards after the catch.
Should Deebo Samuel Return to Niners as a Running Back?
Samuel remains a free agent after his lone season with the Commanders, and former Niners safety Donte Whitner recently stated that he would like for the veteran to return to San Francisco; however, not as a wide receiver.
“Deebo has been putting in the work, and from afar, he looks like he’s in the best shape he’s been in since he first arrived with the 49ers,“ Whitner said in a July 23 video from the “Grit Code Podcast.” “At first, I wanted to say, ‘No, don’t bring him back. He thought the grass was greener on the other side, and now he has to face the repercussions of leaving the 49ers organization and wanting to get out the door so quickly.’
“But then I started thinking, ‘What if you brought Deebo Samuel back and used him primarily as a running back? What would that look like for the 49ers?’”
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