Ricky Pearsall Jr. to make NFL debut weeks after being wounded in shooting

Ricky Pearsall Jr. will make his long-awaited NFL debut on Sunday for the San Francisco 49ers, the biggest step yet in the former Florida wide receiver’s months-long recovery after being shot in August.

Pearsall was removed from the 49ers’ reserve-non football injury list on Saturday ahead of the Niners’ Week 7 game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Levi’s Stadium.

Pearsall, after 3 seasons at Arizona State and 2 seasons at Florida, was the Niners’ first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He had 65 catches for 965 yards and 4 touchdowns for the Gators in 2023.

But on Aug. 31, he was the victim of an attempted robbery in San Francisco and was shot by the would-be thieves. He was taken to the hospital in stable condition and released the next day. According to his mother, the bullet barely missed Pearsall’s internal organs.

Pearsall’s recovery continued in the subsequent weeks as he was placed on the NFI list by the team. But on Monday, he was finally cleared to practice with the 49ers for the first time since the incident as the team activated his 21-day practice window.

Now, on Sunday against the Chiefs, Pearsall will step onto the field in front of his home fans, seven weeks after being hospitalized.

49ers WR Ricky Pearsall officially active today for his first NFL game. pic.twitter.com/J3wlUB6I15

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 20, 2024

Sydney Hunte

Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.