San Francisco 49ers rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall returned to practice on Monday for the first time since he was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery nine days before the season started.
The 49ers allowed Pearsall to start practicing while he is still on the non-football injury list. The team has three weeks to decide when to activate him, and coach Kyle Shanahan mentioned last week that there is no specific timeline for when Pearsall will be ready to play in games.
“I saw him warming up and I started smiling because I know how big of a factor he can be for the team,” rookie guard Dominick Puni said. “But more importantly for his health and everything, it was awesome to see him out there after going through what he went through.”
Just having Pearsall present was uplifting for the 49ers after the incident on August 31. Pearsall was shot in the chest during a robbery attempt in San Francisco’s Union Square area and spent the night in the hospital.
Thankfully, he did not suffer damage to any organs or nerves and was back working out at the team facility the following week.
During the brief part of practice that was open to the media, Pearsall was seen dancing around the field and led the team huddle before and after the session.
Fellow rookie receiver Jacob Cowing said he noticed from their first meeting in January that Pearsall had the “it factor,” and that belief has only grown stronger over the past few months.
“All the adversity that has kind of been thrown at him in the past few months, just for him to overcome everything against him, to fight and to grind and to get back into shape,” Cowing said.
“It’s a great feeling for everyone to see him put the helmet back on, put the jersey back on, and then to go out there and be part of that team and have some fun.”
Pearsall, who was drafted in the first round in April, missed most of training camp due to hamstring and shoulder injuries but was on track to be ready for the season opener before the shooting.
He started his college career at Arizona State and transferred to Florida for his last two seasons. Last season, he had 65 catches for 965 yards and four touchdowns for the Gators, finishing his college career with 159 catches for 2,420 yards and 14 touchdowns.
