Ricky Pearsall's journey from gunshot wound to 49ers' key receiver

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3 days ago

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Ricky Pearsall's rookie season for the San Francisco 49ers never really got off the ground.
Nagging injuries kept him out of almost all of training camp and then he was shot in the chest during a robbery attempt by a 17-year-old in San Francisco about a week before the start of the season
Pearsall survived the shooting and made it back on the field for the final 11 games, but wasn't able to truly show why he was picked in the first round by the Niners.
'I just felt like I was behind the eight ball,' Pearsall said. 'I like to say that I rolled out of bed and started running routes because I damn near did. You can't really rehab a gunshot wound. So I basically rolled out of bed and started running routes in Week 7. ... From that Week 7 and on, that was my training camp. Those practices in between, before the games, that was my training camp, for me.'
Pearsall made an immediate impact after getting back on the field and had a 46-yard TD catch in a Week 9 win at Tampa Bay. He then caught only two passes over the next five games as he struggled to become a consistent part of the offense.
Pearsall thought he was still getting open during that stretch yet just didn't get the ball that way, but it isn't so simple in San Francisco's complex offense based so heavily on timing.
Sometimes he would make an extra move to get off press coverage at the line or take an extra step to open down the field, but it was too late for quarterback Brock Purdy.
'We had a couple of those moments and there were times where he took it a little deeper and then broke open.' Purdy said. "He was like, 'dude I was open.' I said in the timing of the play, I needed it quicker. So, we had moments like that, and that's part of getting to the NFL. ... I think toward the end of the last season, you saw Ricky come out his shell, he was playing within our system and timing."
That was evident in the final two games when Pearsall had 14 catches for 210 yards and two TDs in a confidence-building finish to an otherwise difficult rookie season.
Pearsall's late-season surge provided a rare bright spot at the end of a disappointing six-win season for the 49ers. His role is much more important in 2025 with Deebo Samuel having been traded to Washington in the offseason and Brandon Aiyuk expected to miss the start of the season recovering from knee surgery.
San Francisco has few proven options at receiver with free agent acquisition Demarcus Robinson facing a possible suspension for a DUI arrest. Last year's leading wideout Jauan Jennings' status also is unknown as he is currently sidelined by a calf injury.
Pearsall has carried over that performance to training camp where he has been San Francisco's best receiver since he returned from a hamstring injury.
'To be honest, I'm approaching it the same exact way," Pearsall said. "Whether those guys are in the room or not, that's just how I look at myself. I just got to be able to step in that role. That's just how I look at it. I look at myself as being able to be a guy that goes out there and makes plays. Whether they're there or not, that's how I look at myself.'
The aftermath of the shooting is something that Pearsall is still dealing with 11 months later even if physically he is healthy once again. He has expressed an interest in talking to the 17-year-old charged in his shooting, but is focused first on getting himself right.
"Unfortunately, I revisit that every single night I go to bed,' he said. 'I kind of just carry that with me. Now it's not as much as avoiding it and whether or revisiting it or not revisiting it. It's more about how I deal with it and the light I put on it. It's more a positive light and things I can get out of that, to try to inspire other people. As far as my own personal stuff, I've been doing a better job dealing with it, myself.'
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Josh Dubow, The Associated Press