Ricky Pearsall injury update: Kyle Shanahan addresses 49ers WR's return timeline after gunshot wound

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan shared an update on rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall who is on the non-football injury list. Pearsall is eligible to have his practice window opened this week, but Shanahan said a decision will be made about him returning to practice later this week, per NFL.com.

Pearsall was shot in the chest earlier this month during an attempted robbery in central San Francisco. He was released from the hospital the following day and is expected to make a full recovery. The team placed Pearsall on the non-football injury list which kept him off the active roster for four weeks.

“Ultimately we decided that the best thing for Ricky was to have a little bit of time,” 49ers general manager John Lynch said at the time, per the Associated Press. “He’s going to need that time physically. He’s going to need that time emotionally, mentally. We made that decision. When we drafted Ricky, we did it for the long term. Ricky is going to be a fantastic player here. He’s eager. He was disappointed but understood that we put him on that list and what that entails.”

San Francisco 49ers will not rush Ricky Pearsall back to action

“I think [not rushing him back] is big,” Shanahan said shortly after the incident. “Especially, I think, each day, the mental part becomes more of a big deal. The adrenaline and just surviving that. Ricky saying stuff, at first, that doesn’t matter like, ‘I still think I could play versus the Jets.’ Those are the things he’s talking about, and it’s just like, ‘Dude, what are you talking about? There’s other things.’

“But the adrenaline of all that. And then I think each day just to actually relive that and what his family had to go through for a couple hours, just flying out here, not totally knowing what the deal was going to be. I think that’s tough for him or anybody. When that adrenaline goes away, that becomes a much bigger deal. And that’s kind of what I mean by everyone kind of respecting that.”

Pearsall was selected by the 49ers in the first round of this year’s draft after playing for the Florida Gators in 2022 and 2023. Last year, Pearsall caught 65 passes for 965 yards and four touchdowns for Florida.