Niners Nation
Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Saturday, August 2nd, 2025
49ers announcer Greg Papa steps back from KNBR after sharing cancer diagnosis
“I have been diagnosed with cancer and am currently undergoing treatment,” Papa said in a statement. “As I fully focus on my treatment and work toward a full recovery, I’m stepping away from my broadcasts but look forward to returning soon.”
Papa’s son, Derek, a co-host on KNBR’s afternoon show, said on the air that he shared listeners’ desire to have his dad return this year. But Derek Papa added that his focus was on his father surviving the “battle” he’s facing.
“I know you all want to hear him (on the radio) this season,” he said. “I’ll be honest, I think that will be very difficult.”
“But Purdy offered some clarity. He said there were times where Pearsall, yes, was open, but not necessarily running his route with the timing that the offense prefers.
“In our offense, it’s usually steps, timing, your breaking at a certain angle and Ricky, last year, I feel like he was raw with his talent. He had it. But he also had to learn our system, our timing, where I’m throwing the ball. And he’s got a lot of shimmy and stuff which is great and we need that, specifically against man coverage to create separation. And we love that.
But there were some times where we had to learn, like hey dude, you can’t take a couple more steps and then break out. I need you there now. I need to get this ball out now. And we had a couple of those moments.
There were times where he took it a little deeper and then broke open and he was like, ‘Dude, I was open.’ And I’m like, well, in the timing of the play, I need it quicker. So we had moments like that and that’s part of getting in the NFL and learning the system and a quarterback and a receiver talking and getting to know each other and I feel like it has gotten better, for sure, over the last year or so.
I think towards the end of last season, you saw Ricky come out of his shell. He was playing within our system and timing, so he’s going to continue to learn who he is as a receiver and what his strengths are, and I’m going to continue to learn with him, and that excites me.”
So, yes, Pearsall was getting open, but he wasn’t always doing so with the exact right footwork, or timing of the play. This has always been a timing-based offense. Pearsall’s got the ability to separate against man coverage, but his health and ability to be clinical, and limit waste in his footwork will define his ceiling with the 49ers.”
How George Kittle helping 49ers with uncertainty about Brock Purdy’s targets
“They teamed up for a handful...
