Ricky Pearsall had one of the most unfortunate starts to a rookie season. The wide receiver was shot in the chest at the end of August. However, his comeback has been sweet as well.
The NFL fanbase had poured their support for the San Francisco 49ers man after the tragic event. Now that support has turned into cheers as the rookie scores his first career TD.
Ricky Pearsall’s First TD Elates the Entire NFL Fanbase
Pearsall missed the first six games of the season as he was recovering from the bullet wound. He made his debut against the Kansas City Chiefs and has now started his second game of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In the first quarter, QB Brock Purdy launched the ball to the middle of the field, which Pearsall caught and ran toward the goal line. The video of his TD was uploaded on X (previously Twitter) and it soon went viral.
“10 weeks ago, Ricky Pearsall was shot. Today, he’s doing this,” tweeted an NFL journalist.
10 weeks ago, Ricky Pearsall was shot.
Today, he's doing this. pic.twitter.com/wetmsxMk5C
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 10, 2024
Fans couldn’t contain their emotions and crossed the allegiance lines to congratulate the Niners WR. “We were all rooting for this,” one replied.
We were all rooting for this
— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔦𝔱 𝔗𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 📰 (@the_det_times) November 10, 2024
“Can’t help but be happy for him,” responded one fan.
“Class. Something about him screams cult classic player in about 10 years,” one fan tweeted.
Class. Something about him screams cult classic player in about 10 years https://t.co/Cb3vij9Y39
— Lukey (@LukeB_RFC) November 10, 2024
“You love to see it,” another fan added.
“Cheers to Ricky,” a fan tweeted.
Cheers to Ricky 🥃 https://t.co/E03ThV2iWz
— Old-Fashioned Football (@OldFashionedFB) November 10, 2024
Pearsall Highlights the Tough Road Back to the Squad
The Niners have one of the most star-studded WR rooms in the league. Despite that, they utilized their Round 1 pick in this year’s draft to pick Pearsall (34th overall). However, things did not go to plan after Pearsall’s unfortunate injury.
The 24-year-old is keen to be back at his best and in a recent interview highlighted his process.
“It’s getting better and better,” Pearsall said. “Just practice. The more reps we get in, the better timing our stuff is going to get. You can kind of see it after two weeks of practices, and it’s going to keep improving.
“I think it’s more of just just getting a feel for each other. I’m in a unique situation where I missed training camp and the first few weeks, so I’m just trying to make up for that time we lost,” he added.