Fifty days. A bullet through the chest. And there stood Ricky Pearsall on Sunday, hauling in his first NFL catch while the Levi’s Stadium crowd roared so loud the offense had to wave for silence to hear their next play call.

The San Francisco 49ers’ first-round pick made his long-awaited NFL debut against the Kansas City Chiefs, turning three catches into 21 yards. But the numbers barely scratch the surface of a journey that began with a near-fatal shooting in San Francisco’s Union Square during an attempted armed robbery on August 31st.

“Once I knew I was gonna be OK, and I was gonna be able to live, the next question became was I gonna be able to play football now,” Pearsall revealed post-game. The bullet had miraculously missed his vital organs, requiring just one night in the hospital. Yet his path back to the field proved far more challenging.

The rookie’s return wasn’t part of Kyle Shanahan’s original game plan for the Chiefs matchup. But Pearsall’s practice performances left the head coach no choice. “Wednesday, he looked great, Thursday, he was even better, and today he was even more comfortable,” Shanahan said before the game. “It made the decision pretty easy.”

Those practice reps caught quarterback Brock Purdy‘s eye too. “He’s doing a really good job creating separation,” Purdy noted, watching his new target “going really fast in and out of his cuts.” That ability might prove crucial now, with Brandon Aiyuk facing fears of a season-ending ACL tear after Sunday’s game.

Speaking of injuries, Pearsall also opened up about the physical trauma of his recovery!

 A bullet’s lasting impact on Ricky Pearsall

The physical toll of a gunshot wound lingers far beyond the hospital stay. “Scar tissue buildup in the area since it was in my chest all in like under my armpit,” Pearsall described, detailing the through-and-through wound that left its mark from chest to back.

Those first days after the shooting hit differently. “It’s pretty brutal,” Pearsall admitted, his voice carrying the weight of those dark moments. But he found strength in an unexpected place – the 49ers locker room. “The first thing I was thinking about was the guys in this locker room, the coaches and the entire staff.”

That support system proved vital. The 49ers organization “did a really good job rallying around me,” Pearsall shared, highlighting how the team directed resources his way during recovery. Their backing sparked something inside him: “As soon as I got that answer [about playing football], a light just grew inside of me.”

The “jitters” still showed up for his first NFL snap. But by game’s end, there stood Pearsall – shot, recovered, and reborn as an NFL receiver in just 50 days. “It meant everything,” he said of his debut. For a rookie who stared death in the face before his first professional catch, everything might be an understatement.