49ers WR Ricky Pearsall Wants To Meet Young Man Who Shot Him: “I Have To Be Able To Forgive Him”

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall is doing his best to have some perspective. Pearsall, who just wrapped up his rookie year in the NFL , was shot in the chest back in August shortly before the season began. The football player was shot in the Union Square area of San Francisco during a robbery attempt, and miraculously lived through the scary experience. He even went on to play in 11 of the 17 regular season games for the 49ers. Though the former Florida Gator had an incredibly fast recovery from his gunshot wound and got back on the football field sooner than most thought , the cloud of what happened to him just before he started his rookie year was always there. Pearsall stated that he was too busy during the season to get into any of the legal proceedings, but was going to start exploring that now that the 49ers season had come to a close. During time with the media, the rookie WR was asked if he was curious about the young man who shot him and the life that he leads, and what drove him to commit such a violent act. The 24-year-old showed maturity beyond his years with his answer: "Yeah I'm curious, but sometimes, you don't have answers for that. I don't how how he grew up so, I can't judge him as a man just based off one action that he made. As violent as a crime as it was, God forbid him doing that to somebody else. I don't ever want that to happen so... just being able to forgive him at the end of the day." Pearsall went on to explain why he wishes to forgive the 17-year-old that shot him, and insisted that it would be just as much for himself as it would be for the teenager. He also expressed his willingness to meet - and even help - the young man get back on the right track: "I have to be able to forgive him to have that weight off my chest. At some point I do want to talk to the kid and make sure that, if I can create an impact on him in any way I think that would be really big. I'd be definitely open to doing that." https://twitter.com/KNBR/status/1876392047306768835 Wow. It's hard to imagine extending that much grace to someone that almost took your life. However, it's clear that Ricky Pearsall is just grateful to be alive, and is willing to use his platform as an NFL player to help set the young man who attacked him on the right path - if the teenager would be open to the help. Safe to say that the 49ers got a real winner when they selected Pearsall with the 31st overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Obviously, no one could have known that the story of his rookie year would look like this, but that didn't slow Pearsall down much at all. In just 11 games, the rookie wide receiver racked up 31 receptions for 400 yards and three touchdowns. Add into the mix that he know wants to do some public outreach to troubled youth in the San Francisco area and you've got yourself a surefire NFL star in the making...