49ers rookie WR Ricky Pearsall first NFL game ‘meant everything’ to him

While the 49ers Week 7 didn’t go to plan, there is one silver lining: The return of Ricky Pearsall.

The San Francisco 49ers’ rookie wide receiver made his long-awaited NFL debut Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Pearsall is only six weeks removed from suffering a gunshot wound to the chest during an attempted armed robbery. Despite the horrific incident, the rookie walked away with no vital organs or bones struck, as the bullet traveled near his armpit and out his back.

Because of that, the wideout was able to return to football in 2024, logging three catches for 21 receiving yards Sunday.

Ricky Pearsall has made his 1st-career reception in his NFL debut 🙏

Niner fans show him love with a standing ovation ❤️

(via @49ers)pic.twitter.com/glDCLizt7J

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 20, 2024

While both the player and team would have preferred a win in his debut, the biggest blessing of all is his availability, not knowing what the future held as he laid in a hospital bed a few months ago.

“It meant everything considering all the adversity I went through this past month,” Ricky Pearsall said postgame Sunday. “It was really good to go out there with my guys again. I think that’s a refresher for me. When the incident happened, the first thing I was thinking about was the guys and coaches in this locker room and the entire staff. They did a really good job of rallying around me and making sure I stayed up. It was a huge blessing for me today.”

Pearsall’s perseverance to play football again was well documented, repeatedly asking the medical staff at SF General Hospital when he could see the field.

Obviously, that wasn’t the main concern for him at the time. But it was something to hold his hope onto as he waited for the results of numerous procedures and tests. That, and his maturity allowed the player to stay collected in the moment, eventually exuberant when he learned his football career could resume.

“They told me in the hospital when I was still asking that question over and over again,” he said with a chuckle. “That was a common question coming out of my mouth when I was in the hospital bed. They ended up telling me after they saw the x-rays and the cat scans of the bullet path. There was also some nerve stuff that I had to make sure I was good on, so that’s why I had to stay overnight.

“After that, the next morning is when the doctor came in and told me I would be good to play football again. That was my first question.”

Still, it was a long road back to gridiron.

Ricky Pearsall only needed to miss four contests after he was placed on the Non-Football Injury list in September. Instead, he’d miss six, citing full range of motion as the final hurdle he passed during recovery.

Once the wide receiver regained that, he was ready to hit the practice field, giving the rest of the locker room a bit of spark emotionally.

Ricky Pearsall said he “broke down in tears” when John Lynch visited him in the hospital.

“It made me a little emotional seeing him there — that’s when it all hit.” pic.twitter.com/WeFqtrPQ19

— KNBR (@KNBR) October 21, 2024

“We kind of celebrated that almost all week with him, because it was great to have him back and he looked great in practice,” 49ers’ coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He was going to get eased in a little today, it changed a little bit with [WR Deebo Samuel] going out, then it changed a bunch with [WR Brandon Aiyuk] going out. So he had to do more than we expected today and I was proud of him for handling it. Great to have him back.”

The mood has quickly shifted from having Pearsall, to needing Pearsall, for the 49ers.

San Francisco lost both Aiyuk and Samuel during the game Week 7, with the former likely done for the year due to a torn ACL. Additionally, WR Jauan Jennings is battling a hip issue, inactive against the Chiefs.

The 49ers have always been about “the next man up” approach, but that will be tested going forward.

Pearsall played 76% of the offensive snaps Week 7, a number that will have to increase if the 49ers’ injury woes continue. The need to bring him along slowly is now side-stepped by the necessity to play according to his draft position. He was a first-round pick after all.

That’s not a problem for Ricky however, always up for the challenge.

And that’s not to say there won’t be rookie miscues, that’s to be expected. But as the 2024 season moves into the second half, the expectation for production will elevate, something both the 49ers and player are looking forward to seeing transpire.

“There’s a little bit of a difference, obviously. The NFL is the best of the best, so there’s that difference. I still think there’s similar techniques to beat a [defensive back] at the end of the day. I have to stick to those techniques and keep working on it and keep getting better,” Ricky Pearsall stated.

San Francisco 49ers 2024 Schedule:

Regular Season

• Sunday, October 27th vs. Dallas Cowboys [SNF] – 5:20 pm PDT
• Week 9 Bye Week
• Sunday, November 10th @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 10 am PDT
• Sunday, November 17th vs. Seattle Seahawks – 1:05 pm PDT
• Sunday, November 24th @ Green Bay Packers – 1:25 pm PDT

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