SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers on Wednesday opened the practice window for defensive tackle Kalia Davis but not receiver Ricky Pearsall, who’s eligible to come off the non-football injury list this week after being shot through the chest on Aug. 31.
Kyle Shanahan declined to provide any details, but said Pearsall still is working his way back from his wound.
“I don’t really watch the guys’ rehab and stuff,” Shanahan said. “I just get reports on it, talk to the guys. I know he is really close. When he’s good to go, himself and the medical staff, we’ll be pumped to have him back. Ricky is a hell of a player.”
Pearsall has been seen working out on a side field during recent practices and his teammates said he’s been lifting weights alongside them for several weeks.
“It was a literal gunshot wound,” said long snapper Taybor Pepper, whose locker is next to Pearsall’s. “It was as clean as you could get it, it sounds like (and is) statistically improbable. But I still can’t imagine the mental work he probably has to do at the same time, all while trying to get back on the field and compete this year. Because I think everybody knows he wants to do that.”
“It’ll be huge,” defensive end Nick Bosa said of the prospect of seeing Pearsall, the team’s top draft pick, back in uniform. “Just seeing him around the facility — he’s looking good in his workouts and stuff. He’s a really positive guy. Obviously, that was a very scary incident and I’m happy he’s good.”
GO DEEPER
49ers’ Ricky Pearsall wanted to assure teammates he was OK — so he showed up at work
The 49ers have repeatedly referred to the incident as miraculous considering the bullet exited Pearsall’s back without striking any vital organs or even a rib. Pearsall was released from the hospital a day after the shooting and stopped by the team facility a day after that.
He was shopping near Union Square in San Francisco nine days before 49ers’ regular season opener when he became the target of a robbery attempt. Police arrested a 17-year-old from Tracy, Calif., who’s since been charged with attempted murder along with allegations of assault with a semi-automatic firearm and attempted second-degree robbery. The suspect, who was shot in the arm during the struggle for the gun, is being held in a juvenile facility.
Pearsall stood out for his separation skills during spring practices and the few this summer he was able to take part in. However, he hasn’t been on the field much since training camp opened in late July. He missed the start of camp with a hamstring strain, sat out three weeks with a shoulder injury and, of course, hasn’t practiced in the month after the shooting incident. Shanahan said the shoulder has healed and no longer is an issue.
As it stands now the 49ers’ top three receivers in terms of receiving yards — Jauan Jennings, Deebo Samuel Sr. and Brandon Aiyuk — are healthy with Chris Conley, Ronnie Bell and rookie Jacob Cowing backing them up over the first four weeks of the season. Conley, however, only has been targeted twice while Cowing is still looking for his first NFL pass. Both missed Wednesday’s practice with injuries suffered in Sunday’s win over the New England Patriots. Bell was inactive on Sunday following multiple drops the week before.
As for Davis, Shanahan said the 49ers hope he’ll be able to play Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. That’s because the 49ers are suddenly light at defensive tackle with Javon Hargrave (triceps) out for the regular season and with Jordan Elliott, Kevin Givens and Yetur Gross-Matos showing up on this week’s injury report.
Davis sat out his rookie season in 2022 after suffering a torn ACL in college and he appeared in just three games last year. He was playing well in the recent preseason — “He was flashing a lot,” Bosa said — when he suffered another knee injury, though one not nearly as severe as the ACL tear.
“It’s huge,” Bosa said of having Davis back. “We need a little help there with depth.”
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Odds and ends
• A long list of players sat out Wednesday’s practice, including starters Fred Warner (ankle), George Kittle (ribs) and Gross-Matos (knee).
Kittle played through his rib issue in Sunday’s win over the New England Patriots while Warner was seen running on a side field at the start of Wednesday’s practice.
The 49ers’ Wednesday session typically is a half-speed practice. A truer indication of a player’s game-day availability is whether he takes part in the live-speed Thursday practice.
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Shanahan also noted that it was 100 degrees in Santa Clara on Wednesday and that the 49ers would have a short turnaround after Sunday’s game due to their Thursday night game in Seattle.
“We’ve got two games here in the next eight days,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of guys banged up and the heat, the way it is today, so we’re taking some stuff off guys today. Probably would’ve done that regardless, but knowing we’re playing another one in eight days definitely made that decision easier.”
Receivers Cowing (shoulder) and Conley (oblique), and linebacker Dee Winters (ankle) also missed practice. Left tackle Trent Williams (rest), safety Talanoa Hufanga (ankle), linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (calf), Elliott (knee) and Givens (tricep) were limited.
Per the National Weather Service, it was 100 degrees when the 49ers began practice in Santa Clara and the temp was forecast to top out at 102 degrees. That’s hotter than any practice they had in training camp.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) October 2, 2024
• The only linebacker not on this week’s injury report is rookie Tatum Bethune. That explains why the team signed former linebacker Jalen Graham off the Washington Commanders’ practice squad on Tuesday. Graham is back in the No. 50 jersey he wore last season.
• One of the 49ers who attended a Tuesday event at Stanford Hospital was linebacker Curtis Robinson, who tore his ACL in practice last week. Robinson said Wednesday that the annual children’s hospital visit is his favorite and that he didn’t want to miss this year’s event.
He said his surgery is scheduled for next week and that Dr. Neil ElAttrache, who handled the ACL repairs for Bosa, Solomon Thomas and Jimmy Garoppolo, will be performing the surgery.
It’s always a great time to sing Happy Birthday.
Today, we spent some time at the local children’s hospital delivering goodies and good vibes ❤️💛 pic.twitter.com/w3swzJGiAK
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 2, 2024
• The 49ers added two players to the practice squad, rookie receiver Terique Owens and defensive end Jonathan Garvin, both of whom were with the team in training camp. Owens, the son of former 49ers wideout Terrell Owens, broke his hand in August and didn’t play in any preseason games. To make room, the team released defensive tackle Shakel Brown from the practice squad.
(Photo of Ricky Pearsall: David Gonzales / Imagn Images)
