SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch expects rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall to make a full recovery after he was shot last weekend during an attempted robbery.
Pearsall was hit in the chest and hospitalized overnight after the shooting in central San Francisco on Saturday. He was released from the hospital Sunday and was already back at the team facility Monday.
The Niners placed Pearsall on the non-football injury list, which will sideline him for at least four weeks, giving him time to recover from the shooting and a shoulder injury that had limited him all summer.
“Ultimately we decided that the best thing for Ricky was to have a little bit of time,” Lynch said Tuesday. “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.”
Lynch said Pearsall was very fortunate not to have more serious injuries after the shooting. Pearsall was walking alone carrying shopping bags to his car shortly after 3:30 p.m. Saturday when a juvenile suspect attempted to rob him with a gun in the Union Square area, officials said.
Officers in the area responded immediately and provided emergency medical aid and arrested the suspect. Pearsall was shown on video from a witness with a large chest wound as he was helped into an ambulance.
Lynch thanked the San Francisco police, notably Sgt. Joelle Harrell, who was the first on the scene and gave Pearsall immediate treatment. He also praised the doctors at San Francisco General Hospital, team doctors, trainers and support staff for working together to help Pearsall in a dire time.
Lynch said there was no damage to organs, nerves or ribs, describing it as a “through and through.”
“Multiple people down there said this is about as good an outcome as you could have in this situation,” he said.
That good report was far from certain when Lynch first learned Pearsall had been shot Saturday after shopping for luggage following an autograph signing.
“The earliest calls that I received were extremely scary: ‘We believe Ricky’s been shot in the chest,’” Lynch said. “That outcome’s not usually a good one. So, that was a tough Saturday. It was a tough ride down to San Francisco General. I’m just so grateful that everything worked out the way it did.”
The news hit his teammates hard with them calling it a sobering moment, not knowing immediately what happened to one of their teammates.
“It wasn’t great at all,” receiver Jauan Jennings said. “I didn’t want to do anything. I didn’t want to go anywhere. I just was hoping Rick was all right. Just to keep hearing the good news made my day a lot better and made me happy and to just know that he’s all right and he’s here with us.”
Pearsall was able to FaceTime his teammates who were at a team party Saturday night and then see them in person when he returned to the facility Monday.
“He’s in high spirits,” offensive lineman Aaron Banks said. “You can tell something like that will shake you up and you can tell he’s still working through it. But it was great to see him and for him to be around.”
Pearsall was drafted in the first round in April by the 49ers with the 31st overall pick but has been slowed by injuries since joining the team.
He missed time during training camp because of hamstring and shoulder issues before returning to practice last week with a noncontact blue jersey while his shoulder heals.
Pearsall began his college career at Arizona State and transferred to Florida for his final two seasons. He had 65 catches for 965 yards and four touchdowns last season for the Gators and finished his college career with 159 catches for 2,420 yards and 14 TDs.
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