What Steve Young said about Ricky Pearsall after the 49ers rookie was shot

Ricky Pearsall should have made his NFL debut on Monday in the San Francisco 49ers’ win over the New York Jets.

But Pearsall is still recovering after being shot a few weeks ago during an attempted robbery. Pearsall received encouragement and well wishes following the shooting.

A former 49ers and BYU legend recently shared his support of Pearsall.

What Steve Young said about Ricky Pearsall

Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young attended Monday’s game with his wife, Barbara, and met Pearsall. The three took a photo on the sidelines of Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

Young shared the photo on X, formerly known as Twitter, along with praise for Pearsall.

“Great to see Ricky quickly recovering. And it turns out that one of my wife’s oldest friends is his godfather! So he’s basically already part of the family. It’s been great getting to know you — you’re an inspiration and we can’t wait to see you dominate on the field,” Young wrote on X.

What happened to Ricky Pearsall?

On Aug. 31, Pearsall, the 49ers’ first round pick this year, was walking to his car after shopping in San Francisco’s Union Square when he was confronted by a 17-year-old male in an attempted robbery, NFL.com reported.

In the struggle, Pearsall was shot in the chest and the teen was shot in the arm. Miraculously, the bullet didn’t hit any of Pearsall’s vital organs.

He was released from the hospital the next day.

The teen faces three charges, including attempted murder. His lawyer, Robert Dunlap, said Tuesday that he hopes newly discovered footage of the struggle between Pearsall and the defendant will nullify the attempted murder charge, according to The Athletic .

“It was a rather extended struggle between Mr. Pearsall and my client,” he said. “They were really fighting back and forth on the sidewalk. As you might imagine, Mr. Pearsall gets the best of it. He does kind of — I don’t know if you’ve ever wrestled or not — a nice hip toss and throws my client to the ground and ends up on top of him. … I think (the video) supports that this is an attempted robbery and not an attempted murder.”

At Monday’s game, Pearsall was reunited with and honored some of the first responders who saved his life. He signed jerseys for San Francisco Police Sgt. Joelle Harrell and Dr. Lucy Kornblith, according to the Los Angeles Times .

When will Ricky Pearsall play for the 49ers?

The 49ers placed Pearsall on the reserve/non-football injury list following the shooting. Due to the designation, Pearsall will miss at least four games.

That means the earliest Pearsall can make his NFL debut is Oct. 6 in a home game against an NFC West rival, the Arizona Cardinals.

During a radio appearance on Sept. 6, 49ers general manager John Lynch confirmed that Pearsall will play this season.

“He’s going to play this year. We will give him the time, when it’s right for him physically, mentally and emotionally. But I can tell you he’s doing really well,” Lynch said, according to NBC Sports Bay Area .