San Francisco 49ers GM describes wide receiver’s ‘miraculous’ recovery after being shot

San Francisco general manager John Lynch described wide receiver Ricky Pearsall’s recovery after being shot and emerging from the shooting in such good condition as “miraculous.”

“It’s miraculous he’s doing as well as he is,” Lynch told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday. “He’s doing remarkably, so much better today than he was yesterday. Really, really miraculous. … I mean, it’s pretty remarkable.”

Pearsall was shot in chest during a robbery attempt in Union Square, a commercial area in San Francisco, on Saturday. Pearsall’s mother posted on social media that the bullet entered Pearsall’s chest and exited cleanly through his back and missed vital organs, bones, and anything that might cause nerve damage. The gunshot wound did not require surgery and Pearsall was released from the hospital on Sunday morning, less than 24 hours after the shooting.

The 49ers placed Pearsall on the “non-football injury” list on Tuesday. The NFI designation means Pearsall is ineligible to play in at least the first four games of the regular season while recovering from the injury.

Lynch said he expects Pearsall to play in 2024, but the team will be cautious with his recovery.

“Ultimately, we felt the number one thing we had to be concerned with was Ricky’s well-being, physically, emotionally, mentally,” Lynch told reporters. “And ultimately, decided that the best thing for Ricky was to have a little bit time. And he’s going to need that time physically. He’s going to need that time emotionally, mentally. And we made that decision.”

The 49ers used their first-round pick (No. 21) to select Pearsall in the 2024 NFL draft. He’d been slowed in training camp by shoulder and hamstring issues but returned to practice last week and was on track to play in the team’s regular season opener against the New York Jets on Monday night.