The San Francisco 49ers have officially placed wide receiver Ricky Pearsall on the reserve/non-football injury (NFI) list. Pearsall, a rookie, sustained a gunshot wound to the chest during an attempted robbery on Saturday and spent the night at San Francisco General Hospital. He was released from the hospital on Sunday.
Being on the NFI list means Pearsall will be ineligible to play in the 49ers' first four games. Of course, the priority is ensuring the young player makes a full recovery from the tragic injury.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports that if Pearsall returns to the active roster, it will count as one of the team's eight return-to-roster designations for the season, with the earliest possible return being ahead of Week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals.
Defensive tackle Kalia Davis is on the injured reserve list and, like Pearsall, has a return-to-roster designation.
Yes, I'm told that if Pearsall returns to the active roster it will count as one of the eight return-to-roster designations. https://t.co/uHaSPvOgSE
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) September 2, 2024
San Francisco has re-signed offensive tackle Brandon Parker to fill Pearsall's roster spot. These moves follow the re-signing of defensive end Sam Okuayinonu to the practice squad and the waiving of offensive tackle Sebastian Gutierrez.
Starting left tackle Trent Williams remains on the reserve/did not report list as he continues his holdout for a restructured contract. Jaylon Moore, Colton McKivitz, and Parker are the only offensive tackles on the active roster. The 49ers' international pathway player, Isaac Alarcon, is on the practice squad.
The 49ers will return to practice on Tuesday at 10:55 a.m. before starting their typical game-week practice schedule in preparation for the Week 1 matchup against the New York Jets.
The 49ers Communications staff provided the following rundown.
Parker (6-8, 320) was originally drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the third round (65th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft. Throughout his five-year career with the Raiders (2018-23), he has appeared in 59 games (33 starts) and started in one postseason contest. In 2023, Parker appeared in five games (one start) with Las Vegas. Parker originally signed with the 49ers on March 18, 2024 and was waived by the team on August 27.
A 28-year-old native of Kannapolis, NC, Parker attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University for five seasons (2013-17) where he started in 48 games. Parker was named the MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Year in consecutive seasons (2015-16) and was a three-time All-MEAC selection (2015-17).
