Potential successor to Brandon Aiyuk compounds 49ers' bad day with inauspicious start to training camp

Brandon Aiyuk's trade request overshadowed the start of training camp for the San Francisco 49ers' rookie class. On the same day, the player who would be his potential replacement if the Niners were to oblige Aiyuk's request suffered a setback in his hopes to hit the ground running.

First-round pick Ricky Pearsall drew widespread praise for his efforts in OTAs and minicamp, with head coach Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy among those impressed by how quickly the former Florida wide receiver has picked up the offense and built a rapport with his quarterback.

But, on the day rookies reported to camp, Pearsall's progress was checked, with the NFL's transaction wire confirming he had been placed on the non-football injury list.

Per Matt Barrows of The Athletic , the injury is not considered to be serious, though the nature of it is not known outside of the 49ers organization as yet.

With training camp not getting going properly until veterans report on July 23 , Pearsall has time to recover.

Still, it is far from an ideal start to his first camp for Pearsall. A potential Aiyuk absence from training camp, which appears increasingly likely following his trade request, would give Pearsall more opportunities to increase his understanding with Purdy. For that to happen, however, Pearsall needs to recover and do so quickly.

Related: 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk trapped in a completely unnecessary game of chicken where nobody wins