SANTA CLARA, Calif. — For about 60 fleeting minutes on Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers wide receiver unit looked something like they hope it will when they open the season on Sept. 7 at Seattle.

Second-year wideout Ricky Pearsall returned from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list after a hamstring issue kept him out of organized team activities and the first three practices in this training camp. Veteran receiver Jauan Jennings aligned next to Pearsall as Brandon Aiyuk, who is recovering from torn ligaments in his right knee, watched intently and offered encouragement from the side.

But if there’s one thing to know about the 49ers receivers so far, it’s that they can best be compared to Midwest weather: Give it a little time and things are quickly going to change.

Before Sunday’s session was complete, Jennings had departed with a calf injury that has kept him out since. Pearsall practiced Monday but had a scheduled day off Tuesday, and fellow second-year wideout Jacob Cowing is expected to miss at least the next couple of weeks with a hamstring issue.

Suffice it to say for the nine healthy receivers on the roster, San Francisco’s practice field is a land of opportunity.

“Obviously, for the quarterback you want to have a consistent group out there,” offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said. “But it can be good for the quarterbacks, too, to have a revolving door because the quarterback just has to play. … It can be a good thing for QBs to sometimes have to work through different skill position groups.”

Considering the uncertainty the 49ers have at wide receiver, there’s a real chance that door will keep revolving into the early weeks of the season.

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Although the Niners have been encouraged by Aiyuk’s health, there’s still no timetable on a potential return. He’s currently on the active/PUP list, which suggests there’s at least a chance he could return in the first four weeks, but his injury was significant, making his recovery murkier than other, cleaner ACL injuries.

After signing a $30 million-a-year contract extension last summer, Aiyuk will have big expectations when he does return. For now, the 49ers are happy to have him around the team. It’s a far cry from last year’s hold-in and the awkwardness, which included him wearing the wrong color shorts to practice, that followed.

“It looks like he’s out there doing a lot, hanging around the guys,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I know he is in all the meetings and stuff and he does his rehab in the morning, does a little bit more in the afternoon walk-through. I love him being around … and doing all that stuff. I know having an injury is frustrating but he’s going about it the right way.”

In some ways, Jennings finds himself in a similar situation to Aiyuk last year. Jennings is entering the final season of the two-year extension he signed in the 2024 offseason and scheduled to count $4.258 million against the salary cap — with more than $8 million in dead money in 2026 because of void years still lingering.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported in mid-July that Jennings would like a lucrative contract extension or, barring that, a trade. But unlike Aiyuk, Jennings has made no trade request despite not having a deal done and took part in each of the first four practices of training camp before the calf issue.

While that injury is not expected to be long term, it is a reminder of the potential perils of paying Jennings, who has never missed more than three games because of injury, but has appeared on the injury report 11 times over the past two seasons. (He plays a physical style that lends itself to bumps and bruises.)

Still, nobody seems to be surprised that Jennings has opted not to be a distraction.

“He wants to play,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. “Jauan is a football player and I think that’s the biggest compliment you can give anybody in this building is to say they’re just a football player. Jauan is a guy that we all feed off of his energy, his physicality, his ability to get open, make big plays when we need him. Jauan is one of us and we love him. We hope he gets whatever he deserves and then we can keep cruising forward with him.”

While Aiyuk and Jennings are out, Pearsall’s return has taken on even more importance. The 2024 first-round pick is expected to step into an expanded role in his second season. That notion took a hit in the spring when Pearsall suffered a hamstring injury that also kept him out in the opening days of training camp.

Now, Pearsall is back, and he quickly impressed teammates and coaches with his performance in Monday’s first fully padded practice. Pearsall started slow in his rookie season after hamstring and shoulder injuries cost him most of training camp before he was shot in the chest in an alleged attempted robbery in San Francisco just before the season started.

Pearsall missed the first six games on the reserve/non-football injury list, but by the end of the season he seemed to find his groove, impressing Kubiak with his improved ability to beat man-to-man coverage. He posted 18 receptions for 247 yards and two touchdowns in the final three weeks.

The key for Pearsall now is to find a way to stay on the field.

“He’s got to be consistent,” Kubiak said. “Ricky just gets better and better the more he is out there. He’s just got to stay out there and stay healthy and take care of his body. I think the sky’s the limit for him.”

Looking beyond the top three of Aiyuk, Jennings and Pearsall, the 49ers have plenty to figure out with the rest of their receiver depth chart.

Veteran Demarcus Robinson has been a consistent performer early in camp, but pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor DUI charge in early July. That plea could still lead to a suspension, with the Niners awaiting word from the league.

From there, the Niners have intriguing young options, including fourth-round pick Jordan Watkins and undrafted rookie Isaiah Neyor, both of whom have provided some highlights in the first week of camp, but have an uphill climb with Shanahan, who asks a lot of his young wideouts.

“They’re spinning right now,” Shanahan said. “Once you think you’ve got it, it gets a lot worse the next day. … I think they’re in their playbooks, but they definitely can’t be content with it. They’ve got to get into more, they’ve got to get more of these reps, and we’ve got to keep challenging them.”

Others, such as Russell Gage, who had success in his first five years in the league and posted 72 receptions for 786 yards for the Atlanta Falcons in 2020, have also flashed promise. Like every other spot on the roster, there’s plenty of time to figure out which receivers will land on the roster and where they’ll fit on the depth chart. What’s true today likely won’t be tomorrow.

“We just work through it,” Kubiak said. “You work through the ups and downs, and you just keep going day by day.”