The San Francisco 49ers can't catch a break. Seattle Seahawks fans might not mind, of course. If San Fran never wins another game, that would be just fine. The issue becomes that one team wants to beat another when the best players are available for both.
When Seattle crushed the 49ers in the Divisional Round of the playoffs last season, 41-6, for instance, the outcome was expected. Not only were the Seahawks better, but San Francisco was missing a lot of key players due to injuries. That is seemingly not going to change much in 2026, as the Bay Area squad now knows for sure that it won't have wide receiver Ricky Pearsall.
Pearsall has been dealing with a PCL injury since last season. He played through the issue, but aggravated the problem in training camp. After a few days of reviewing the situation, the receiver will now have surgery that will cost him the season.
Seattle Seahawks won't face San Francisco 49ers receiver Ricky Pearsall in 2026
This comes just a day after the 49ers announced the signing of Deebo Samuel, a former San Fran player who had spent one season with the Washington Commanders. Samuel was going to basically be a replacement for Brandon Aiyuk, who has his own concerns inside and outside football. He is unlikely to ever play for the NFC West team again.
San Francisco also lost Jauan Jennings in free agency, and rookie De'Zhaun Stribling has struggled greatly in offseason workouts and training camp. He might still be fine, but the growing trend is that the 49ers will have a relatively weak wide receiver group. Pearsall could have helped that cause, but that will need to wait until 2027.
Pearsall started 2025 supremely well. In Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks, he torched cornerback Riq Woolen, who has since left the Pacific Northwest and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, on a drive late in the game, setting up an eventual touchdown that would be the difference in the game.
The 49ers wideout hasn't been able to stay healthy in his short career, though. He played in just 11 games in 2024 and nine last season. When he's available, he is quite good, but by the time the 2026 season ends, he will have missed 31 out of a possible 51 games in his career.
To get into the playoffs and have a chance at repeating as Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks will have to go through the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams. In a best-case scenario, Seattle wins those games with every team having its best players performing. In the case of the 49ers, that appears destined to never happen.
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