San Francisco 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall will make his NFL debut on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, just 50 days after he was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery in San Francisco.
Kyle Shanahan confirmed Friday that Pearsall, the team’s first-round pick this year, will be taken off the non-football injury list and will be on the field Sunday.
“He has roles on special teams, he has roles at receiver,” Shanahan said. “We’ll see how the game goes. But he’s healthy and ready to go.”
“Ricky’s been studying, he’s been getting a lot of things. I know he’s going to get better as the year goes on, so we understand that with our expectations and everything. Missing all the training, missing some time, makes it more difficult schematically and everything going in and out of “The rally, but he’s doing his best to catch up. He’s getting better every day and he’ll get better every week.”
Fellow receiver Jauan Jennings, one of the 49ers’ standout players in their Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs in February, will miss Sunday’s rematch with a hip injury. Shanahan said Pearsall would have played Sunday even if Jennings had been active.
San Francisco opened Pearsall’s practice window on Monday, just over six weeks after the Aug. 31 firing. Bring a jolt of energy and joy to the practice.
“He’s doing a really good job, obviously coming back bringing the juice, moving very quickly in and out of his cuts and creating some really good separation,” linebacker Brock Purdy said Thursday.
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General manager John Lynch, who spoke on KNBR earlier in the day before Shanahan announced Pearsall would play, said it was trending in a “good direction.” Pearsall did not play in pre-season as he suffered a shoulder injury.
“I can’t say enough about the kid and how he handled the whole deal,” Lynch said.
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The 49ers may need Pearsall to help fill the void of Jennings, who threw for a touchdown, caught a touchdown and likely caught a second touchdown in overtime of the Super Bowl if San Francisco doesn’t break the guard and give defensive tackle Chris Jones a free run at Purdy.
Jennings leads the 49ers with 404 yards, followed by Brandon Aiyuk (351 yards) and Deebo Samuel Sr. (335).
Meanwhile, Shanahan said running back Jordan Mason is “good too” against the Chiefs. Mason sprained his shoulder in the Week 6 win over the Seattle Seahawks, but participated in every practice this week, albeit wearing a blue non-contact jersey. Shanahan said he will play with no restrictions.
During his appearance on KNBR, Lynch also provided an update on running back Christian McCaffrey, who is taking a measured approach to the Achilles tendinitis that plagued him this summer. Lynch said the 49ers are impressed with McCaffrey’s workouts as he increases his activity level.
McCaffrey will work out one day, rest, then work a little harder the next. Lynch said McCaffrey is “doing incredibly well,” with no setbacks to this point.
“There’s no schedule or anything, but he’s doing more every day,” Lynch said.
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