San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch addressed reporters on Tuesday to provide an update on rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, who was the victim of an attempted robbery on Saturday afternoon, during which he was shot in the chest.
"By the grace of God, Ricky Pearsall is here with the team and doing really well and just wanted to address that situation from a team perspective," Lynch commented. "We just all feel incredibly blessed. [I] was able to be down at the hospital, and if I heard it from one person, I heard it from so many down there—nothing short of miraculous that he came out of this as good as he did.
"On behalf of Ricky and his family—I talked with Ricky this morning—he just wants to express, and the team wants to express our gratitude to a variety of people. Number one, the San Francisco Police Department. They were incredible in their response. They were incredible at the hospital."
"It's miraculous he's doing as well as he is."
John Lynch addresses the attempted robbery and shooting of Ricky Pearsall pic.twitter.com/mFx7ugHz2Q
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) September 3, 2024
Lynch praised the first responders and the medical team at San Francisco General Hospital for the exceptional care Pearsall and his family received. Pearsall spent Saturday night at the hospital and was released the following day.
Lynch noted that the bullet missed vital organs, bones, and anything that might cause nerve damage, describing the trajectory as "through and through." The bullet entered Pearsall's chest and exited cleanly through his back.
The 49ers had already scheduled their annual team party for Saturday night and proceeded with the plans at Pearsall's request. The injured receiver was able to FaceTime with his teammates from the hospital during the event.
"It was really nice to hear his voice, to see that he was in good spirits," guard Aaron Banks said.
Not only is Pearsall expected to resume his NFL career, but Lynch is optimistic that the receiver will be able to play for the 49ers this season. The general manager mentioned that one of the first things Pearsall asked him in the hospital was when he might return to the field.
"He's doing remarkably, so much better today than he was yesterday," Lynch said. "Really, really miraculous. ... I mean, it's pretty remarkable."
Banks has seen Pearsall in the building this week. The offensive lineman stated, "He's in high spirits, but you could tell he's still—something like that will shake you up. So you can tell he's still working through it, but it was great to see him and for him to be around the team."
The altercation occurred in Union Square, a commercial area in San Francisco, where Pearsall was shopping for luggage for the upcoming season's road trips. Reports indicate that the suspect, a 17-year-old male from Tracy, California, was apprehended after being shot during the incident. He was also treated at San Francisco General Hospital.
"I think by the time I had heard the news, I saw that he was in stable condition," Banks added. "But I feel like you never really know, even with that, how serious it is."
Aaron Banks said that he's talked to Ricky Pearsall in the facility and said Pearsall FaceTimed the team Saturday night at the team party to let them know he was ok pic.twitter.com/IQRAukZogh
— Jake Hutchinson (@hutchdiesel) September 3, 2024
On Monday, the 49ers placed Pearsall on the reserve/non-football injury (NFI) list, making him ineligible to play in the team's first four games. However, he was spotted this week working out in the team's weight room, signaling remarkable progress in his recovery.
"Ultimately, we felt the number one thing we had to be concerned with was Ricky's well-being, physically, emotionally, mentally," Lynch said. "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.
"When we drafted Ricky, we did it for the long term. And Ricky's 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, and we're just going to take this as it comes."
Lynch added, "We're going to put our support and love behind Ricky and work through this. With that being said, it is a game week, but this really makes you stop and reflect on how precious life is. He's a very fortunate young man, and we're so grateful for so many people that allowed the outcome to be as good as it could possibly be."
