Pearsall's Knee, Two Quarterback Lines, And A Strip-Sack To Open Team Drills

Wednesday's practice was media-only, it started at 10:10am at the SAP Performance Facility, and the thing that mattered most did not happen on the field.

Ricky Pearsall's knee is the story. Nick Wagoner of ESPN reported swelling related to a PCL injury the receiver carried over from last season, and that surgery is being explored. Wagoner's phrasing is that the swelling could potentially lead to season-ending surgery. No timetable has been given and the team has not announced anything, so what exists is one reporter's dated account of a knee that is not right. That is the whole of it, and it is enough to reorder a position group.

Which makes the receiver room the most crowded part of this roster, by subtraction. Christian Kirk was on the sideline with a calf strain. Pearsall is where he is. That leaves Mike Evans, Demarcus Robinson, Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing and De'Zhaun Stribling taking the work in a group the 49ers spent the offseason rebuilding around two veteran signings and a second-round pick.

Stribling caught five passes, including a leaping grab from Adrian Martinez that Brad Graham described as showcasing a catch radius he called insane. Stribling was the 33rd pick in April. A rookie receiver getting five in a single session says as much about who was unavailable as about him, and both things can be true.

Jordan James has a fractured rib, which moves the backfield. Kaelon Black handled the heavier workload behind Christian McCaffrey. Malik Mustapha has a hamstring strain. Trent Williams had a scheduled rest day, which is a different category and worth keeping separate from the four names above it.

Brock Purdy completed 14 of 18 in team drills, per Wagoner, who had him sharp on in-breaking routes to Watkins, Evans and Stribling and unable to connect on a couple of deep balls. Renardo Green broke up one of them, a deep ball intended for Evans.

Mac Jones went 11 of 15, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic, with two of those completions to tight end Jake Tonges. Early in team drills Jack Jones intercepted him on a pass intended for Cowing, per Wagoner.

Dre Greenlaw opened team drills by stripping McCaffrey and recovering the fumble, per Barrows. It is the first repetition of the day and it went to the defense, which is the kind of detail that gets forgotten by August and remembered in December.

QB3 is still QB3. Kurtis Rourke and Adrian Martinez are both still there, and offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said the competition will kind of play itself out, by which he means in the preseason games. Nothing about Wednesday narrowed it.

The call: Kaelon Black is on the 49ers' initial 53-man roster when it is set on August 30. Scored off the roster the club announces at the mandatory cut, not the practice squad, and not a later signing. He is a rookie whose workload went up because a teammate fractured a rib, which is the most fragile reason to be getting reps, and that is why this is worth writing down rather than assuming.

Sources. Practice date, start time and the media-only designation are from 49ers Webzone's July 29, 2026 report and the club's announced camp schedule. Pearsall's knee swelling, the PCL carryover and surgery being explored are Nick Wagoner, ESPN, July 29; Purdy's 14-of-18 line, the in-breaking routes, Renardo Green's breakup and the Jack Jones interception are also Wagoner. Mac Jones' 11-of-15 line, the two completions to Jake Tonges and Greenlaw's strip-sack of McCaffrey are Matt Barrows, The Athletic, July 29. Jordan James' fractured rib, Malik Mustapha's hamstring strain, Christian Kirk's calf strain, Trent Williams' rest day, Stribling's five receptions and the Klay Kubiak quote are from the same July 29 Webzone report, which credits the Brad Graham observation on Stribling. Evans' and Kirk's arrivals and Stribling's No. 33 selection are matters of record from the 2026 offseason. This site was not at the practice.