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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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The San Francisco 49ers finished the regular season 12–5, earning a wild-card berth after winning six of their final seven games, including key victories over playoff teams Carolina and Chicago.
This marked a remarkable turnaround for the franchise, rebounding from a 6–11 2024 season in which they missed the postseason, a losing record that came just months after the team’s appearance in Super Bowl LVIII.
However, while the 49ers currently boast one of the best offenses in football, headlined by quarterback Brock Purdy, running back Christian McCaffrey, and tight end George Kittle, the team could be without two other critical starters.
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Head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams (hamstring) and wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (knee) did not practice in Wednesday’s first on-field session, putting both players’ availability in doubt for Sunday’s Wild Card game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Williams, the 49ers' 12-time Pro Bowl left tackle, suffered a hamstring problem on the first offensive play vs. Chicago in Week 17 and missed the Week 18 game vs. Seattle.
An All-Pro anchor at LT, he logs the vast majority of offensive snaps, serves as San Francisco’s primary protector of Purdy’s blind side, and is one of the NFL's highest-value blockers — losing him would be a major downgrade in both the pass and run game.
Pearsall, San Francisco's 2024 first-round pick, emerged as a key depth and vertical receiving option this season, recording 36 catches for 528 yards in just nine games, averaging 14.7 yards per catch.
However, he missed time with a right-knee PCL issue that was aggravated late in a recent game, and he also absorbed an ankle scare during the same sequence
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If Williams is unavailable, the 49ers would have to rely on swing-tackle depth in Austen Pleasants, Spencer Burford, and Colton McKivitz, with Burford and McKivitz having experience at both tackle and guard.
That domino effect would increase pressure on Purdy and amplify the advantage of Philadelphia’s pass rush, which already ranks among the league’s most dangerous with stars like Nolan Smith Jr., Jalyx Hunt, Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, and Jalen Carter.
If Pearsall sits, snaps would shift to other receivers such as Jauan Jennings, Kendrick Bourne, and Demarcus Robinson, reducing the 49ers’ vertical threat and forcing more designed looks to Kittle and McCaffrey.
It’s worth noting that these aren’t final injury designations, so both players could still return to practice later in the week.
However, given their key roles in the offense, this is a significant development to monitor, and one that could very well decide momentum on Sunday.
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