It was difficult to know what to expect at 49ers HQ Tuesday morning.
The shooting of Ricky Pearsall during an attempted robbery Saturday afternoon in Union Square was unparalleled. The Bay Area held its breath waiting for concrete updates.
But Pearsall got as lucky as possible. He is back at the 49ers’ facility. As John Lynch put it Tuesday, his health is in a “miraculous” state. Lynch said the gunshot to Pearsall’s chest avoided organs, bone and nerve damage, and confirmed no surgery would be needed.
Lynch also gave the one, crucial update that some were scared to ask. Will Pearsall play this season?
“Oh yeah,” Lynch said. “He's doing remarkably well."
Pearsall -- who Lynch said was buying luggage for team road trips before the shooting -- was visited that night by Lynch at San Francisco General Hospital. One of the first things Pearsall asked the 49ers’ general manager was about the team’s party scheduled for that night. Lynch said Pearsall wanted the party to continue, and to talk to his teammates. He later FaceTimed them at the party (the same one which featured a Rick Ross-Kyle Shanahan crossover with Shanahan in an, er, unique suit).
That relief is impossible to quantify. Talking to 49ers players about Pearsall brought a pang of anxiety on their faces, recalling the uncertainty. But that relief washed over them just as quickly. Relief is the primary feeling in the building, and it wasn't just about Pearsall.
Tuesday morning also came Trent Williams' return to the building amidst an imminent extension. It concluded the two-pronged hold-in, hold-out situation with Brandon Aiyuk and Williams, and has allowed the 49ers to refocus themselves firmly on the season.
Williams said part of why he came back was the shooting of Pearsall.
“Honestly, to be real, I felt more compelled to come back after that anything," Williams said. "Because I've never experienced that in my playing career to have a teammate, shot. So in my mind, I'm like, Man, I just want to get back, get around the team."
He recalled meeting Pearsall briefly during his "30 minutes" at 49ers OTAs. Williams said Pearsall came up to him and introduced himself, and that Pearsall "stood out" for that. Williams said he "instantly felt this vibe" about how "genuine" Pearsall was.
"So as soon as I seen that happen, I'm like, man, I just want to get back, I just want to be a voice in his ear, let him know everything gonna be alright, be there for the team," Williams said.
Williams hadn’t signed his deal at the time of his press conference, but did immediately after. His agency announced it as a three-year, $82.66 million deal. The $27.55 million per year figure makes him the third-highest-paid offensive lineman per year behind Penei Sewell and Tristian Wirfs, and the top-paid left tackle. It also comes with $48 guaranteed million at signing with a $25.69 million signing bonus.
Williams said he was aware of his age, and wanted security in a “volatile league.” On the north of $5 million in fines he racked up, he said he wasn’t worried.
"It's a war,” Williams said. “Both sides are gonna lose a little blood... At the end, we signed a peace treaty."
A peace treaty is an especially good way to think about these contracts… especially Aiyuk's. The All-Pro wide receiver was pretty blunt about the tempestuous nature of his negotiations, and admitted he might have taken things a bit far when asked if there were "bruised feelings" between him and the 49ers' brass.
“I think, I'm not gonna lie, I made it a little bit more difficult than it needed to at the end," Aiyuk said. "I mean, it was like that for me, I'm not going to say the whole entire time. But for about the past month, I think we were pretty good.”
Aiyuk did confirm he “wanted to be here,” but also came to grips with the fact that he could be traded. He said he had to balance being a "squeaky wheel that has to be silent sometimes, but know when to squeak," during negotiations.
In reality, all of that's old news. It's secondary to the question of Week 1. Is Aiyuk prepared for Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed?
“Ready to go,” Aiyuk said.
Are the 49ers ready? After as dramatic an off- and pre-season as any, are they emotionally ready for the Jets?
“I guess we’ll see," Aiyuk said.
The blessing and curse of a football season is that it plods on to the march of time. There’s not all that much room for reflection. Maybe that’s what the 49ers need psychologically, to move on and focus on the thing that’s supposed to be the only thing.
Now, with contracts solved, and a tragedy avoided, the 49ers can actually do that. Having Pearsall immediately around the facility, Aiyuk back at practice, and the gravitas of Trent Williams’ presence is a salve for spirits that seemed a bit weary over the summer. But as Bill Belichick would say, it's onto the Jets.
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