San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan announced that the team plans to activate wide receiver Ricky Pearsall from the non-football injury (NFI) list, making him eligible to play in Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs. He will officially be activated on Saturday afternoon.
When asked how Pearsall might contribute in his NFL debut, Shanahan said, "Whatever he's needed at. I mean, he's got roles on special teams, he's got a role at receiver, and we'll see how the game unfolds. But he's healthy and ready to go."
Pearsall is seven weeks removed from being shot in the chest during a robbery attempt in San Francisco while shopping for luggage for his road trips with the team on August 31. The receiver spent the night in the hospital but was released the next day.
The 49ers opened Pearsall's practice window this week. The rookie has been a full participant in all four sessions, including Monday's bonus practice.
"He looked good on Monday. He looked even better on Wednesday," Shanahan said. "And so we kept repping him. When you're repping guys like that, I think he understood he was going to be up. ... Monday, I didn't even really count, just because it was a walkthrough and everything. But Wednesday, he looked great, and Thursday was even better. Today, he's even more comfortable, so made the decision pretty easy."
Earlier in the week, quarterback Brock Purdy how Pearsall has looked in practice.
"He's doing a really good job, obviously being back and just bringing the juice, going really fast in and out of his cuts, and creating some really good separation," Purdy said. "And so, obviously, we drafted him in the first round, and he's got a lot of potential. And yeah, for him to get in and actually be a part of our offense, not just a young guy that's trying to learn his way, but actually trying to make an impact pretty early on, for me, I love it."
San Francisco selected Pearsall out of Florida with the 31st overall pick in April's NFL Draft.