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          49ers rookie WR Ricky Pearsall races 46 yards for his first TD

          • Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff WriterNov 10, 2024, 06:48 PM
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              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
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          TAMPA, Fla. -- While running back Christian McCaffrey's return has already helped the San Francisco 49ers against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it was rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall who got the scoring started Sunday.

          Facing second-and-5 at Tampa Bay's 46-yard line, Niners quarterback Brock Purdy dropped back, scanned the field and hit Pearsall over the middle. Pearsall caught the pass in stride and raced to the corner of the end zone, just crossing the goal line before stepping out of bounds for his first career touchdown, which put San Francisco up 7-0 with 4:15 left in the first quarter.

          Pearsall missed San Francisco's first six games after he was shot in the chest during an alleged robbery attempt at the end of August. San Francisco used its first-round pick (No. 31) on Pearsall in April's draft.