One day after San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was shot during an attempted robbery in San Francisco, the rookie was released from the hospital Sunday afternoon, the team announced.

Pearsall did not require surgery and remained awake and lucid during his hospital stay, according to a league source. His family was in the room Saturday night, the source said.

“He and his family, along with the entire San Francisco 49ers organization, would like to thank the San Francisco Police Department, emergency medical services, doctors and staff at San Francisco General Hospital,” the 49ers said in a statement Sunday.

Pearsall, 23, was upgraded to “fair condition” earlier Sunday, the hospital announced.

According to police, he was shot in the Union Square area of San Francisco after being approached by a suspect, which ignited a physical confrontation. During the robbery attempt, both Pearsall and the suspect were shot, police said.

On Saturday, police said a 17-year-old suspect from Tracy, Calif. — about 60 miles east of San Francisco — was in custody. SFPD chief William Scott said the suspect’s gun was recovered at the scene.

Scott added it doesn’t appear Pearsall was targeted due to being an NFL player. Scott, who spoke with Pearsall about what happened, said the police believes the suspect was working alone.

Pearsall was drafted by the 49ers with No. 31 pick in this year’s draft. He played three seasons at Arizona State and two years at Florida.

Required reading

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The first full Saturday of the college football season is in the books, and the College Football Playoff race is already top of mind.

Yes, it’s only one week of games. Yes, we always overreact to Week 1. Yes, there’s a ton of football still to be played. But it’s impossible to ignore the new 12-team CFP because every Football Bowl Subdivision team enters the season with a chance to make the field now. And even one week of action was enough to inform some takeaways that will impact the CFP race the rest of the way.

Here are five Playoff-adjacent lessons from Week 1.

1. Brace yourself for some blowouts in December.

Lopsided results were a frequent concern in the 10 years of the four-team CFP. Whether in the semifinals (Alabama vs. everyone) or the national championship game (Georgia 65, TCU 7), several Playoff matchups turned into blowouts because the top couple of teams in the sport were so much better than everyone else. Georgia and Clemson’s neutral-site opener in Atlanta doubled as a test for a 12-team era, as the No. 1 ranked SEC favorite took on one of the top teams in the ACC, ranked No. 14.

The result: a 34-3 beatdown in which the Bulldogs outscored the Tigers by 25 in the second half. Georgia looks as good as everyone thought it would be. It’s hard to imagine the Bulldogs not reaching the Playoff for the third time in four years, whether as the SEC champion or as one of the seven at-large selections. Georgia has a tough schedule, traveling to Alabama in Week 4, to Texas in mid-October and to Ole Miss in November, but any SEC contender with two losses is still likely to make the field. That fact may one day take some of the shine off of these high-profile nonconference regular season tests, but that’s the price being paid to ensure more universal championship access in an expanded Playoff. And if this Georgia team gets matched up with another ACC team, a Big 12 team or a Group of 5 team in December’s early rounds, the talent disparity could lead to ugly final margins like we saw on Saturday.

Clemson, meanwhile, exhibited all the same offensive problems it did a year ago. Georgia may be the best team in the country, but the Tigers again don’t look like a national championship contender based on Saturday’s effort. Still, the 12-team format means no Power 4 conference team’s season is done after Week 1. All Clemson has to do is win the ACC to guarantee itself a spot. And that still seems doable because…

2. Miami looks fantastic, but the rest of the ACC does not.

While the ACC league office battles Florida State and Clemson in court amid the two members’ ongoing efforts to break free from the conference’s grant of rights agreement, it would’ve behooved the ACC to get off to a strong start on the field and keep the realignment noise in the background. The league entered the season with no shortage of optimism thanks to seven teams in the AP poll’s top 30 (three of which landed just outside the Top 25).

Instead, it’s been a rough first week for what was perceived to be the top of the league. Defending champion and preseason favorite Florida State lost to Georgia Tech in Ireland in Week 0, Clemson got shellacked by Georgia on Saturday, popular dark horse pick Virginia Tech lost to Vanderbilt, and preseason No. 24 NC State needed a fourth-quarter comeback to escape Western Carolina on Thursday.

GO DEEPER

Billy Napier beware: Florida has not historically been patient in rebuilds

But then there’s Miami! The Hurricanes lived up to their offseason hype with a dominant 41-17 win at Florida. Transfer quarterback Cam Ward looked spectacular, as did Miami’s other transfer additions. That is getting what you paid for. It’s only one week, but Miami looked like the best team in the league by a wide margin. And with a schedule that avoids Clemson and draws Virginia Tech and Florida State at home, Miami will suddenly be a very popular pick to make the CFP.

The Hurricanes now have a 42 percent chance to make the Playoff and a 23 percent chance to win the ACC, per Austin Mock’s projections model, while Clemson and Florida State have each fallen to a 20 percent chance to make the CFP. Beyond Miami, the rest of the league will need to play much better if the conference wants to find a second CFP bid.

Find all CFP projections here

3. Penn State looks like a real contender.

When the CFP expanded to 12 teams, Penn State looked to be the biggest beneficiary: The Nittany Lions finished ranked in the top 12 six times since 2016 but never made the four-team CFP field.

That feeling is even stronger after Penn State’s dominant 34-12 win at West Virginia. The defense was its normal physical and stout self, but the offense was explosive, and dare I say exciting, after drawing meme-worthy ridicule for its unwillingness to attack vertically last year. The Nittany Lions had two completions of at least 50 yards on Saturday after having just five all of last season. Quarterback Drew Allar finished 11 of 17 passing for 216 yards and three touchdowns, plus another 44 yards on the ground. He looked composed and sharp on the road in a way he didn’t last year.

It’s early, but Penn State looked like a team that might just not make the CFP, but win a game or two. The Nittany Lions now have a 74 percent chance to make the CFP, per our model, up from 67 percent before Week 1.

4. Notre Dame has an inside path to the Playoff already.

As an independent, the Fighting Irish don’t have a conference championship to play for, and because the top four seeds in the expanded CFP go to the four highest-ranked conference champions, even a Notre Dame team ranked No. 1 at the end of the season would not get a first-round bye. Still, the additional at-large bids available in the expanded field greatly help the Irish’s chances of making the Playoff, and after a season-opening 23-13 win against Texas A&M in College Station, Notre Dame should already be heavily favored to qualify, with a 72 percent to make it, according to The Athletic’s model.

It’s very likely Notre Dame will be favored in every game left on its schedule: The toughest remaining games are probably at Georgia Tech, at home against Florida State and at USC to close the year. The Irish can probably afford to lose one of those and still make the CFP field at 11-1. Marcus Freeman’s team has Playoff expectations this year, and Saturday’s win was a massive step toward that goal. A consequential Week 1 win makes their margin for error that much wider.

5. The Group of 5 favorites escaped some scares, with big Power 4 tests ahead.

The new stakes for the Group of 5 were made clear immediately when Boise State, the preseason favorite for the CFP spot reserved for the G5’s highest-ranked conference champion, trailed Georgia Southern on the road in the fourth quarter. The Broncos rallied to win 56-45 on the back of 377 rushing yards between Ashton Jeanty and Sire Gaines, retaining their Mountain West front-runner status and juicing Jeanty’s draft stock. Next up is a trip to Oregon, which needed to hold on to survive an upset bid from FCS Idaho.

Sun Belt favorite Appalachian State led East Tennessee State by just seven points deep into the third quarter but eventually won 38-10. Next up for the Mountaineers: a trip to Clemson.

Meanwhile, defending Conference USA champion Liberty trailed FCS Campbell deep into the second quarter and only led by 10 points entering the fourth but eventually won 41-24. AAC favorite Memphis, for its part, had no trouble during a 40-0 win against FCS North Alabama. The Tigers travel to Florida State in two weeks. The strength of these teams’ and their conferences’ resumes will be under scrutiny all fall.

GO DEEPER

College Football Playoff 2024 projections: Miami moves into our 12-team bracket

(Photo: Jack Gorman / Getty Images)

INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Colts tight end Kylen Granson wore a Guardian Cap over his helmet during the preseason and plans to continue doing so in the regular season to further protect his brain from long-term damage.

“At one point people thought seatbelts were f—ing stupid,” Granson told The Athletic on Thursday. “Why wouldn’t I (wear it)? Just because it looks silly? I feel like health and safety is more important than aesthetics.”

After Granson’s comments went viral, the four-year pro explained his position even further in an Instagram video Friday. Granson and hundreds of other NFL players began wearing Guardian Caps, essentially soft-shell pads attached to their helmets, when the NFL mandated certain position groups wear them in practice ahead of the 2022 season.

He’s liked the results so far, and now that the league will allow players to wear them in games, Granson believes it is a “no-brainer” for him to further protect his brain.

“There’s no amount of aesthetic that could outweigh what a TBI (traumatic brain injury) could do to you,” Granson said via Instagram. “And one of the more unknown things is that not only is it the big hits that you have to worry about, it’s the culmination of a bunch of little hits.”

He compared someone’s brain to Jell-O, explaining every time a football player takes a hit and their brain shakes like Jell-O, it may not seem like much in the moment but it could have a dire or even deadly effect down the line. Granson also noted hundreds of these little brain shakes can occur from OTAs and training camp in the offseason, a three-game preseason, a 17-game regular season and even more games if a team reaches the playoffs.

Granson, 26, suffered a concussion in a Week 6 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars last year and was sidelined for the next two games.

However, Granson said he would still wear a Guardian Cap even if he hadn’t sustained a concussion. The tragic stories of Pro Football Hall of Famer Junior Seau and former New England Patriots tight end and convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez, who both died by suicide and were later diagnosed with CTE, serve as sobering reminders for Granson.

“I want to live forever,” Granson told The Athletic, partly joking. “I don’t want anyone to dig me up after I’m gone and check my brain.”

Granson elaborated even more on Instagram, saying he wants to be able to remember the first dance at his forthcoming wedding “30 years from now” and his future child’s first steps. But aside from his own wishes, he believes it’s his responsibility to set an example for the millions of children who look up to NFL players.

“I want to inspire kids to think that health and safety is also cool,” Granson said on Instagram. “You can do cool things out on the football field and still wear a Guardian Cap. I want my (future) children to wear helmets when they ride a bike. … Because there’s no amount of cool that would be worth walking into a hospital room and your child’s in a vegetative state because they weren’t wearing a helmet. Because they didn’t want to look dumb.”

Since 2022, the NFL reports Guardian Caps have resulted in a 50 percent decrease in concussions among players who’ve worn them in practice.

NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller told ESPN earlier this year in addition to Guardian Caps, “there are new helmets this year that provide as much — if not more — protection than a different helmet model paired with a Guardian Cap.”

Ultimately, it is still the player’s choice, and it certainly makes for a hot topic in NFL locker rooms. Some Colts players, who are supportive of Granson wearing a Guardian Cap, are vehemently against wearing one themselves because of how it looks. Granson is one of at least two Indianapolis players who will don the added head gear regardless, as safety Rodney Thomas II told The Athletic he plans to wear a Guardian Cap during the regular season, too.

Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is arguably the most prominent NFL player to wear a Guardian Cap during the preseason, though he was noncommittal about wearing it in the regular season.

Granson said via Instagram he loves football with all of his heart, but it’s not worth putting his life or his family’s life at risk because he’s afraid of being ridiculed or perceived as soft.

“It’s bigger than me. It’s bigger than just looking cool,” Granson said. “And if I can do the same things on the field, and be safe at the same time, why would I not want that? As a fan, why would you not want that? Some of your best players could play for longer and protect their health.”

Required reading

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