Lengthy rehab with little precedent

Pearsall (knee) is one of the few prominent athletes to have surgery on an isolated PCL injury, making it difficult to set expectations for rehab length or a potential return to pre-injury form, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Prem Ramkumar told the San Francisco Chronicle that there's not enough data on similar surgeries to confidently predict whether Pearsall will regain his pre-injury form in 2027. That also explains why rehab estimates have been so broad, with one report suggesting "6-12 months" as the timeline for Pearsall's return. Having undergone surgery in early August, the wideout has 13 months to prepare for Week 1 of 2027 -- right around the time he'll celebrate his 27th birthday.