Dynasty Fantasy Football News: Ricky Pearsall Update, Injury Concerns and More

The NFL regular season is about to begin, and fantasy football owners are chomping at the bit to get going.

Redraft leagues are still the most popular fantasy leagues, but dynasty leagues have also risen in popularity over the years. Every week this season (maybe even multiple times a week), FantasySP will produce dynasty fantasy football updates. This is the first update in that series!

We will keep the focus on young and promising NFL players, but also incorporate all NFL news as best we can. Let’s get into it!

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Ricky Pearsall Placed on Non-Football Injury List

The biggest piece of dynasty news going into the season is the news surrounding Pearsall, who suffered a gunshot wound to the chest on Saturday.

He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list on Monday. Pearsall will need to spend at least one month on that list.

Pearsall was the 31st overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and looked like he might be heavily involved with the 49ers’ offense with all the Brandon Aiyuk trade rumblings during the preseason. Aiyuk ended up staying in San Fran, which meant Pearsall wasn’t going to be nearly as involved as originally anticipated.

Even with Aiyuk there, there was a chance Pearsall could have carved out a decent role alongside him and Deebo Samuel Sr. Now it looks like Jauan Jennings will serve as the third starting receiver, with rookie Jacob Cowing, Ronnie Bell and Chris Conley serving as depth options.

First and foremost, I hope Pearsall is able to make a full recovery. Reports say his recovery might take weeks instead of months, which is a fantastic thing. 

Back to the fantasy football side of things. The unfortunate situation obviously is not great for Pearsall’s development as a football player. While sidelined, Pearsall will miss valuable practice and game reps. 

We also don’t know how the injury will affect him, both physically and mentally, over his life and NFL career. One would think the situation would take some time to recover from, meaning it might be much longer than four games that Pearsall misses as a rookie.

From a dynasty perspective though, fantasy owners have hope that Pearsall can get back on the field someday and become a fantasy football asset. Behind Aiyuk and Samuel, along with having Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle on the offense, Pearsall likely wasn’t going to be a weekly contributor this season. 

At some point, the Niners won’t be able to pay all those players, which is when Pearsall was going to get his big chance. I’d almost approach his rookie season as a redshirt college season. He’ll be around the team and the game, but might not make much of an impact (if any at all). We obviously all hope he’s able to recover fully and get back to the NFL field, where he can hopefully have a long and prosperous career.

We’ll keep an eye on this situation as it develops, so be sure to keep checking back for the latest.

Rasheen Ali Limited at Practice

The Baltimore Ravens rookie running back was limited during the team’s practice with a neck injury.

Ali isn’t expected to be a huge fantasy asset this season with Derrick Henry in town and Justice Hill serving as a more than capable backup. Still, opening an NFL career with a neck injury is never a good thing, and again, takes away valuable practice reps for the rookie.

Hopefully the injury doesn’t impact him all season, and Ali can get back to the practice field and eventually NFL field. He definitely offers more upside than Hill, but that’s hard to show if he’s not available.

If Ali isn’t able to showcase himself early in the season, he might not ever get much of a chance in Baltimore. Keaton Mitchell is expected back at some point this season, and might immediately push Ali off the roster.

Henry is going to dominate the touches as long as he’s with the Ravens, but if he goes down, the top backup is going to be heavily involved. That’s what gives guys like Hill, Ali and Mitchell some fantasy value now, and if they can produce with Henry around, maybe they get the RB1 job when Henry leaves/retires.

Trey Lance Now QB3 in Dallas

Lance once looked like a future NFL star and franchise quarterback, but he now looked destined to be a backup. He’s now QB3 in Dallas behind Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush.

When Lance got moved to Dallas, there were some who hoped he’d shine and maybe get the starting job someday. Prescott still doesn’t have an extension, so there’s still some hope for that, but if Lance is not even the backup, his future looks very bleak.

Lance is only a dynasty option in deeper setups, but has pretty much no value at this point. He won’t net you much in a trade, and there’s not much hope for his future as a starting option. I’d probably hang on to him for this season, but then cut ties if his situation doesn’t improve.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire Hits Reserve/NFI List

Edwards-Helaire will miss the first four games of the season after being placed on the reserve/NFI list.

CEH was set to serve as the top backup to Isiah Pacheco, which was an intriguing spot from a fantasy perspective as he was the No. 2 back for a workhorse back on a great offense. He too once looked like an NFL star, but looks destined for a backup role for the rest of his career.

Edwards-Helaire, 25, still has some gas in the tank, but losing his backup role might mean his time in Kansas City is over.

Undrafted rookie Carson Steele had a good preseason and now might be the top backup to Pacheco. The team also signed veteran Samaje Perine, who has carved a career out of being a third-down back who is a good pass catcher. 

Steele is probably worth an add in some dynasty setups, at least to see if he indeed is the backup. If he is, just stash him for the season, and if Pacheco ever goes down with an injury, Steele immediately becomes a starting option.

If Perine is the backup, then you can probably cut ties with Steele. Perine is 28 years old, so while he’s got some decent fantasy value for the upcoming season, it’s not like he’s got several big seasons in him yet.

The only way any backup gets run this season is if Pacheco goes down. He’s a great dynasty option as a 25-year-old and being the workhorse on a high-flying offense. His fantasy stock also probably went up because of the Edwards-Helaire news.

Jordan Addison Participates in Practice

Addison has been dealing with an ankle injury, but was able to practice on Monday.

His fantasy outlook for the season has been murky, with a possible suspension looming. Addison then suffered his injury, which could also hamper him in the early portion of the season.

Addison’s dynasty outlook is still very strong though. As long as he can stay out of more trouble, he’s just 22 years old and playing opposite Justin Jefferson. Addison should be heavily involved in Minnesota or for another NFL team for at least several more seasons.

Addison’s dynasty stock was pretty strong after his rookie season, and after the offseason trouble and preseason injury, his stock is down. Now is not a time to try to trade Addison, as the return would be much lower than it probably should be. Just have hope that the young, talented receiver can get things back on track and re-emerge as a big-time dynasty option.