San Francisco 49ers stars voice support for former Gator Ricky Pearsall

Former Florida football wide receiver and San Francisco 49ers first-round pick Ricky Pearsall was shot last Saturday in central SF, and fortunately, had stabilized well enough from his chest wound to be released from the hospital the following day.

Since the jarring event, a couple of his new teammates have been offering words of support to the sports media.

“When it comes to Ricky, we’re all just so thankful he’s gonna be OK,” Niners All-Pro tight end George Kittle told USA TODAY Sports when asked about Pearsall, who was discharged from the hospital Sunday after being shot in the chest. He noted that hearing the news was “wild” at the time.

However, the Niners players are not fully privy to what occurred on Saturday afternoon and in the interest of allowing their teammate to recover, have given him space in that regard.

“I don’t know all the details,” he added. “I try not to ask him, because I feel like that’s an incredibly traumatizing event that I would not anyone that I know to go through. I think Coach (Kyle) Shanahan and (GM) John (Lynch) did a great job of just reaffirming to everybody to just let Ricky know that we’re here for him if he needs anything from us and to take his time.”

Nonetheless, it is pretty clear that getting shot in the chest — in the middle of an urban center in broad daylight, no less — is a tough situation to work through. And Pearsall’s peers respect that.

“I’ve never worked with someone who’s had to go through something like that, so we’re just all here for him,” said Kittle. “And I know that’s gonna take some time for him to process. But we’re clearly thankful he’s OK.”

San Francisco’s general manager also voiced his concerns early this week.

“(W)e felt the number one thing we had to be concerned with was Ricky’s well-being physically, emotionally, mentally, and ultimately decided that the best thing for Ricky was to have a little bit of time,” Lynch said Monday.

“When we drafted Ricky, we did it for the long term. And 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. It’s four weeks, at least. We’re just going to take this as it comes.”

As the week progressed, yet another teammate spoke about how the near tragedy has affected him and his contract negotiations coming into the 2024 campaign.

“I felt more compelled to come back after that than anything,” All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams said Tuesday, when he ended his holdout and signed a revised contract extension – the club’s last major piece of football business after wideout Brandon Aiyuk landed his own four-year extension Thursday.

“In my mind, I just wanted to get back, get around the team.”

The 36-year-old Williams said he was drawn to Pearsall, who is 12 years younger, during a brief appearance at offseason OTAs and wanted to be present for his recovery.

“Ricky stood out to me,” said Williams. “He did go out of his way to come and introduce himself to me.

“I just instantly felt his vibe and could just feel he’s such a genuine person. …I wanted to be around for that.”

About Ricky Pearsall

The 49ers selected Pearsall with the 31st pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft. He spent three years with the Arizona State Sun Devils before transferring to Florida for his final two seasons.

Over 25 games as a Gator, Pearsall reeled in 98 receptions for 1,626 yards and nine touchdowns. He also added 175 rushing yards and three more scores on 11 carries.

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