SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Ricky Pearsall has been easy to pick out in San Francisco 49ers practices.
For one, he’s been the team’s most prominent receiver on the field for most of the spring. Brandon Aiyuk was a no-show on Day 1 of the mandatory minicamp on Tuesday as he continues to hold out for a multiyear contract extension.
Another top receiver, Jauan Jennings, only recently signed a new two-year deal and has been eased into practice. And though Deebo Samuel has been present from OTAs onward, his workload tapered off recently. Two other receivers, Chris Conley and rookie Jacob Cowing, were working on a side field on Tuesday.
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All of which has given Pearsall, the 49ers’ first-round pick, plenty of practice repetitions and the opportunity to build chemistry with quarterback Brock Purdy.
Another reason he’s stood out: While every other player is in red or white, Pearsall has donned a blue, no-contact jersey the last two weeks. Kyle Shanahan said that’s due to “soreness” Pearsall experienced coming out of the first week of OTAs last month. It hasn’t caused him to miss any time and hasn’t slowed down his connection with Purdy.
The quarterback’s first big throw of 11-on-11 drills Tuesday was on a deep crossing route to Pearsall. The rookie started on the left side of the field against cornerback Samuel Womack III, then worked his way across the field and made the catch just before the sideline.
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Pearsall also caught a comebacker from Purdy against Womack and was later able to make a fingertip grab on third down at the sideline against cornerback Renardo Green, another rookie who’s looked good during the spring sessions.
“It’s been fun to watch both of them,” Shanahan said of the Purdy-Pearsall connection. “Brock doesn’t always get to watch how the route gets there. But he knows when guys end up in the right spot. That’s when quarterbacks get comfortable, and I think he can make that throw with Ricky right away. He’s been getting to the right spot. And when he has made a mistake, he understands it and corrects it. I think that so far those guys have had a lot of fun working together.”
Of course, Pearsall hasn’t been going against anything close to the defense’s A-team.
He was primarily being covered by Womack on Tuesday because Charvarius Ward is recovering from offseason core surgery while Deommodore Lenoir is dealing with some “tightness” that isn’t considered serious but that held him out of practice.
A number of other starters, like Nick Bosa, Maliek Collins and Fred Warner, also didn’t take part in the session, which likely gave Pearsall the time to run from one side of the field to the other on Purdy’s initial throw. The situation won’t be as easy when the defense is closer to full throttle next month at training camp.
Still, it’s been a good start for the team’s top draft pick.
“He’s doing a really good job,” Shanahan said. “He’s got really good hands, so he always catches it. He’s rarely going to have a drop. We’re giving him a lot of reps, he’s getting a lot of different routes, he’s trying all the positions. We’ve been really impressed with how he’s started off.”
• Christian McCaffrey said that he hopes the two-year contract extension he signed Tuesday helps lift the bar for all running backs, a position at which salaries have stagnated, especially compared to wide receivers.
“Running back has been undervalued for some time now and I think this is a step in the right direction,” McCaffrey said.
CMC on his contract extension. pic.twitter.com/WEQg1M8Ecg
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) June 4, 2024
A year ago, McCaffrey was prominent because he was one of the few 49ers star players who practiced — and who went full bore — in both the voluntary and mandatory spring practices. Though he was on hand after signing his extension, he has yet to practice with the team this offseason.
Has he been able to duplicate his 2023 routine elsewhere?
“There’s no substitute to being out on the field with the guys to practice football, but you do the most with what you have,” he said.
• Aside from Aiyuk, the only other player who didn’t report for the mandatory minicamp was tackle Trent Williams, who was attending his daughter’s graduation. Shanahan said Williams was expected in on Wednesday.
Samuel, meanwhile, said he’s been in steady contact with Aiyuk and has been offering advice throughout the offseason. Samuel went through his own difficult contract negotiation two years ago, though it’s notable that he was on hand for the mandatory minicamp that year.
“I know it’s a stressful time,” Samuel said. “And he’s done a tremendous job throughout his career here. And when it comes to things like this, it gets tough and some things you kind of take personal. And overall, it’s just a stressful process.”
• Samuel arrived at the podium wearing a bejeweled No. 1 necklace, which matches his new jersey number. He said he switched from No. 19 because he grew up wearing No. 1, including in high school and college. He also revealed he made a previous bid to wear No. 1.
“I actually offered Jimmie (Ward) some money not to wear it the year he wore it,” he said of the former 49ers defensive back, who is now with the Houston Texans. “He wasn’t going for it (then), but he just sold it to Stefon (Diggs). But whatever. So it was cool to get the number back and get Samuel Sr. on the back of my jersey to kind of represent me and my son.”
• A number of 49ers sat out the practice either because they are coming back from injuries, nursing minor issues or because, like McCaffrey, they are such recent arrivals to training camp.
In fact, so many players didn’t practice that it’s easier to list the probable Week 1 starters who did take part:
Offense: Purdy, Samuel, Kyle Juszczyk, Colton McKivitz and Aaron Banks.
Defense: Javon Hargrave, Leonard Floyd, De’Vondre Campbell, George Odum.
As was the case last week, Ben Bartch handled center duties with both Jake Brendel and Jon Feliciano dealing with injuries.
Though Bosa and Collins were on hand, neither practiced. Yetur Gross-Matos filled in at defensive end with the first-team unit while Kevin Givens played defensive tackle.
“When guys haven’t been here through Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3 — just to throw them out there, we’re not going to risk that,” Shanahan said. “No matter what happens today or tomorrow, we’re going to get away and come back in 40 days.”
• The 49ers signed veteran tight end Logan Thomas to a one-year deal Tuesday and he was on the field, wearing No. 48, during the early portion of practice. While he was getting eased in, and while George Kittle continues his recovery from offseason core surgery, Eric Saubert got the bulk of the repetitions with the first-team offense.
Apart from Kittle, Saubert is the team’s best blocking tight end and has spent the bulk of his career as an inline tight end (lining up at the end of the offensive line). His blocking ability might free Kittle to run more pass routes.
Thomas, meanwhile, mostly has worked as a slot receiver over his career and has been a better pass-catching option than Saubert. He had 55 catches — 21 of them for first downs — for the Washington Commanders last season.
New guy Logan Thomas learning the ropes at tight end … pic.twitter.com/v067U53Z5R
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) June 4, 2024
It will be interesting to see which of the veteran tight ends gets the most snaps behind Kittle this season. Brayden Willis, Jake Tonges, rookie Mason Pline and Cameron Latu, who is rehabbing from last year’s knee issue, round out the position. Shanahan said Latu is on track to be ready for training camp.
• The backup tight ends looked good during a seven-on-seven drill in the red zone. Brandon Allen connected with Willis, Joshua Dobbs hit Saubert and Dobbs found Tonges for touchdowns in quick succession. Purdy, meanwhile, hit running back Jordan Mason for a touchdown at the end of the session.
Allen, however, was picked off early in the drill when linebacker Dee Winters stepped in front of his pass to Saubert.
• The team began practice by working on kick returns. Under the new rules, most of the return team lines up at the 35-yard line (directly across from the kicking team, which lines up at the 40) with two players on the 30-yard line and with either one or two return men.
The 49ers experimented with all sorts of configurations during the session and had a number of players handling returns, including most of the receiving corps.
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Shanahan said that under the old rule teams wanted a specific type of return man — a speedster — because they knew that the kick would be arriving with as much hang time as possible. Now no one knows how the kicker will deliver the ball.
“Are you getting (hang time)? Are you getting squib kicks?” he said. “Do you want a shortstop who can get the ball off the ground clean? Do you want the typical guy who can just hit that seem? Do you want more of a punt returner who goes side to side to find the crease? If there were one style of kickoff I think we could come up with (an answer) but I think they’re all going to be different. So I think it’s going to be all types of players.”
• Ward said the core muscle issue for which he had offseason surgery had been bothering him for the last four years dating back to when he was with the Kansas City Chiefs. He said it got worse with time — especially some lower back pain — which is why he took care of it this offseason.
“I’m only in my mid-20s,” he said. “It felt like I was 35-40, so I had to get it done when that started happening.”
(Photo of Ricky Pearsall: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)
