Over decades of coaching football, Kyle Shanahan never has seen anything like what 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall has done this season.
After being drafted by San Francisco in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Pearsall missed most of the offseason program with a lingering shoulder injury. When he was cleared to return, he was shot during an attempted armed robbery on Aug. 31 in San Francisco -- just nine days before the 49ers' Week 1 game.
Miraculously, Pearsall survived the bullet going through and out his chest and, even more impressive, he was able to return to the gridiron in Week 7.
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“It's just been impressive," Shanahan told reporters after practice Friday. "He's been impressive since he's gotten here. He had such a setback with injuries he had from OTAs to training camp and then right when he was good and really got his first week of practice, which was only three days, then he got shot, which is as crazy as anything. And then he got back, we needed him pretty fast, especially losing [Brandon Aiyuk] at that same time.
"And now being three weeks into it, I feel like he's finally where he would've been if he would've been ready for Week 1 if he had practiced all training camp. So he is in a real good spot. But I think he'll continue to get better. He's been a stud. He is always the same guy. He's been through as much as anyone in the time we've known him and he's been the same guy every day. So just a really impressive person and I think we're all seeing the impressive football player also.”
Pearsall didn't just return to the field to show face, either; he has been a big part of San Francisco's star-studded offense as the team looks to build some momentum before an important stretch of games.
The 24-year-old scored his first career NFL touchdown in Sunday's win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, yet another reminder of just how amazing his journey has been.
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FIRST CAREER TD FOR PEARSALL 🫡 pic.twitter.com/BTBWEJMi0b
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) November 10, 2024
Despite facing so many obstacles so early into his career (and life), Shanahan said Pearsall has remained the same high-spirited guy he always has been.
“Just always positive," Shanahan said. "He never seemed down about it. Never seemed depressed about it and had every right to. That was a pretty traumatic experience, which I'm sure he had to work through in a lot of ways on his own. But just his, he is a very likable guy. Every part of our team, the wideouts to the defense, to every type of person.
"He's just, he's a very positive, upbeat guy and the stuff he went through didn't change him at all, which is as impressive as anything.”