49ers rookie WR Ricky Pearsall was shot and will start the season on the non-football injury list

Ricky Pearsall 49ers pic
Ricky Pearsall 49ers pic

The San Francisco 49ers are in the middle of their championship window and they’re trying to capitalize. In 2023, the Niners finished with a 12-5 and had the #1 seed in the NFC playoffs. San Francisco made it to the Super Bowl but lost in OT to the Chiefs. Heading into 2024, the Niners have several key players returning in hopes of making another deep postseason run. 

With the 31st pick in the 2024 NFL draft, the 49ers selected Florida Gators WR Ricky Pearsall. Over the weekend, the rookie WR was involved in an attempted robbery and was shot in the chest. Pearsall was shot on Saturday and was listed in “serious but stable condition.” Luckily, he was upgraded to “fair condition” on Sunday and was released from the hospital. However, Pearsall will need time to recover and he is starting the season on the non-football injury list. He will miss at least the first four games for San Francisco.

Ricky Pearsall was shot in the chest over the weekend but was released from the hospital


While Ricky Pearsall was not going to start right away for the 49ers, he had the chance to be a complimentary player to the star receivers. The 23-year-old will miss out on that opportunity to start the season strong. Pearsall was involved in an attempted robbery this past Saturday and was shot in the chest. Ricky Pearsall’s mother explained how lucky her son is to be alive. The bullet entered his chest and exited his back, just narrowly missing vital organs. On Saturday, a 17-year-old male from Tracey, California was arrested according to San Francisco Police Chief William Scott.

This is not how the 49ers or Ricky Pearsall saw his rookie season starting. However, Pearsall will be able to play in 2024 but he just needs extra time. Just last week, the Niners were able to end Brandon Aiyuk’s hold-out and the WR is back with the team. Additionally, the team will look for Deebo Samuel to return to his All-Pro form. Juan Jennings is WR3 on the depth chart with Chris Conley and Jacob Cowing behind him. Ricky Pearsall fits somewhere in that group of players but we will have to wait for the rookie to return.

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