SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Just five days after being shot in the chest in downtown San Francisco, San Francisco 49ers receiver Ricky Pearsall was already back in action, watching team practice on Thursday.
As the Niners officially began their work week leading up to Monday night’s matchup with the New York Jets, Pearsall took to the field minutes after the session began Thursday. Wearing a dark 49ers T-shirt, gray sweatpants and cleats, Pearsall threw a football while watching his fellow receivers do individual drills.
Piersol made her first public appearance since she was shot by a 17-year-old male suspect while shopping near San Francisco’s Union Square.
About an hour before Piersole took to the practice field, coach Kyle Shanahan reflected on the emotional experience Saturday.
“It was really hard,” Shanahan said. “We just knew he was shot. That’s all we knew. And then it took us about an hour to figure out where the hospital was and stuff. We made a few phone calls to people to get information. But none of us knew where he was or anything.”
About 40 minutes after the first call, Shanahan received another call confirming that Piersall was conscious, speaking and would survive, but it was a FaceTime call from Piersall to Shanahan that completely confirmed that fact.
“That was like when I first found out he was okay,” Shanahan said. “It was amazing. When we heard about the shooting, we didn’t even know where it was, so we just assumed the worst. Then when we heard it was in the chest, I thought, that’s not usually how it goes. And then I actually talked to him 15 minutes later, and he was talking to someone who seemed okay.”
Shanahan also said Piersol was shot “about two inches” below the praying hands tattoo that adorns the right side of Piersol’s chest. Shanahan said in follow-up discussions with first responders and medical personnel, he was told that of the roughly 100 people shot in the same area, only two survived.
In a FaceTime call with Shanahan, Piersall told the coach, “I still think I can play against the Jets,” and assured Shanahan that the team could proceed with its planned season-opening party Saturday night.
Shanahan then had a large-screen TV and speakers set up so Piers could FaceTime the entire team.
“Thank God he’s alive with us today,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “It was a crazy situation. I’m so happy he’s back around the building with us.”
In fact, Pearsall was able to return to the 49ers in a short time. Less than 24 hours after the shooting, Pearsall was released from the hospital early Sunday afternoon. He returned to the team facility, talked to teammates in the weight room, attended meetings on Monday and Tuesday, and participated in practice on Thursday.
Pearsall is currently on the reserve/non-football injury list and will be out for at least four weeks. However, Shanahan said Pearsall will rest for the next few days and is expected to begin rehab and return next week. In the meantime, Pearsall will be with the team as usual.
As for the mental and emotional aspects of Piersole’s recovery, Shanahan stressed to the team that Piersole “shouldn’t go through that 80 times” and that the mental aspect will be the most important thing in the coming weeks.
On Tuesday, general manager John Lynch said Pearsall is expected to play this season, and Shanahan agreed on Thursday.
“He’s the toughest guy I know, when he’s going through those situations,” Shanahan said. “We’ve always felt that way watching him play on the football field. But when you see how he handled that situation and how he’s been every day since, you know how special he is.”
In other 49ers news, running back Christian McCaffrey was limited in practice Thursday with what the Niners are calling a calf and Achilles strain. The Achilles strain was not previously disclosed, but Shanahan said it is not a new injury and is related to the calf issue that has kept McCaffrey out for most of the preseason and training camp.
McCaffrey appeared to be working at full speed during the roughly 30-minute practice session released to the media on Thursday.
