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Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff WriterOct 11, 2024, 04:11 PM ET
- Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL at ESPN since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In his 10 years with the company, Nick has led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam’s subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team’s relocation and stadium saga. You can follow Nick via Twitter @nwagoner
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After they get a three-day break this weekend, the San Francisco 49ers will return to practice Monday with their first-round pick back in the mix as they continue to wait for their star running back to do the same.
Coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday that the Niners will open the 21-day practice window for receiver Ricky Pearsall on Monday, though they will not do the same for running back Christian McCaffrey just yet.
Pearsall is on the non-football injury list after he was shot in an alleged robbery attempt in San Francisco’s Union Square area on Aug. 31. McCaffrey landed on the injured reserve list on Sept. 14 because of lingering Achilles tendinitis. Both players are eligible to return in the run up to the Oct. 20 Super Bowl LVIII rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs, but McCaffrey isn’t quite to that point, Shanahan said.
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“He’s continuing to improve but we’re not opening it up [next] week,” Shanahan said.
The Niners were technically able to open Pearsall’s practice window before the Oct. 6 game against the Arizona Cardinals. But they opted against it in part because they had a short practice week before Thursday night’s game against the Seattle Seahawks and wanted to give Pearsall full work weeks as he comes back. Players coming off an injured list get a three-week period to practice where they can be activated at any time.
It’s too early to tell when the Niners will do that with Pearsall, according to Shanahan.
“Most likely I would think it’d be a longer ramp-up period, but I think health-wise and everything, he is totally good to go,” Shanahan said. “I really won’t decide that stuff until we start watching him practice, but we’re not going to rush it or anything. If he’s ready, he’s ready and if he’s not, we’ve got a few weeks.”
Pearsall was shot in the chest after a 17-year-old high school senior from nearby Tracy, California, attempted to rob him, resulting in a struggle between the two, according to the San Francisco Police Department. The bullet exited Pearsall’s back and missed vital organs, allowing for a speedy recovery that Niners general manager John Lynch has called “really, really miraculous.”
The Niners placed Pearsall on the non-football injury list on Sept. 2 and vowed not to rush Pearsall back so that he could recover physically, mentally and emotionally. Since, Pearsall has been around the team the facility every day and has been seen conditioning on the side during practice.
McCaffrey’s status remains more uncertain. Sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter last week that McCaffrey had no flare-ups in his first week back doing on-field work and that there was “some mild encouragement” about that progress.
With Shanahan ruling out McCaffrey opening his practice window next week, the earliest he could return would be before the Oct. 27 game against the Dallas Cowboys. The Niners also have their bye after that, followed by a Nov. 10 game at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. McCaffrey has been spotted in the locker room recently after visiting Germany to see a specialist last month.
