A former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver has called it a career after seven seasons in the NFL.
Trent Taylor, who was a fifth-round draft pick of the Niners out of Louisiana Tech in 2017, is retiring. The 32-year-old wide receiver announced his retirement online while celebrating the moment with his wife, former 49ers teammate George Kittle and Kittle’s wife, Claire, in a recent Instagram post.
Taylor spent the first four seasons of his career with the 49ers, posting his best receiving season during his rookie year. The 5-foot-8 Taylor posted 43 catches for 430 receiving yards and two touchdowns while also serving as San Francisco’s punt returner. He posted 30 punt returns for 281 yards.
Leading into the 2021 season, Taylor signed with the Cincinnati Bengals, appearing in all four of their postseason games during their run to the Super Bowl. Taylor caught a key two-point conversion in the AFC Championship Game, tying the game at 21 before the Bengals went on to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 27-24. He also posted six punts for 76 yards during that postseason.
Trent Taylor Returned to 49ers For 2024 Season
Taylor would go on to serve as the Bengals’ primary punt returner during the 2022 season before playing the same role for the Chicago Bears during the 2023 season. He ended his career in San Francisco after re-signing with the 49ers, appearing in two games with the team during the 2024 season. He signed a reserve/future contract with the team prior to the start of the 2025 season, but was placed on injured reserve in June and missed the entire season.
In 80 games and three starts, Taylor ends his career with 88 receptions for 845 receiving yards and three touchdowns along with 112 punt returns for 1,051 yards (9.4 yards per punt return).
Ricky Pearsall Put on Notice Entering 2026 Season
While one former 49ers wide receiver’s career is ending, another one’s is still rounding into form. Ricky Pearsall will enter his third season with high expectations after spending the 2025 season as San Francisco’s starting wide receiver. However, the former first-round draft pick appeared in just nine games due to a PCL injury, producing just 36 catches for 528 receiving yards and zero touchdowns. His rookie numbers were arguably more impressive considering he wasn’t a starter — he started four of his 11 games — when he produced 31 catches for 400 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
As he enters his third season, the pressure will be on Pearsall to prove he is indeed worthy of his first-round billing. As Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton writes in his article of “Predicting Every NFL Team’s Biggest Bust of the 2026 NFL Season,” he mentions Pearsall as the 49ers’ biggest bust.
“In 2025, Pearsall caught 36 passes for 528 scoreless yards,” said Moton. “Even without Brandon Aiyuk for an entire season, the 2024 first-rounder didn’t take full advantage of increased opportunities in the aerial attack, partially due to injuries.This offseason, the 49ers signed Mike Evans and Christian Kirk and selected De’Zhaun Stribling in the second round of the draft.”
The hope is that the addition of six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans will open things up for Pearsall, who struggled while given every opportunity to be the 49ers’ top receiver in the absence of Brandon Aiyuk. We’ll see if he’s able to do that, but there’s little doubt that this is a big one considering San Francisco will have to do decide on whether or not they want to pick up his fifth-year option for the 2028 season.
Ex-49ers 32-Year-Old Wide Receiver Retires After 7 Seasons