TAMPA, Fla. – While the return of running back Christian McCaffrey has already helped the San Francisco 49ers against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it was rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall who got the scoring started on Sunday.

Like this for him! Inspiring! pic.twitter.com/raxLgt6vWt

— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) November 10, 2024

Facing second-and-5 at the Tampa Bay 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 ran to the corner of the end zone, just crossing the goal line before stepping out of bounds for his first career touchdown, putting San Francisco up 7-0 with 4:15 to go in the first quarter.

Pearsall missed San Francisco’s first six games after being shot in the chest during an alleged robbery attempt in late August. San Francisco used its first-round pick (No. 31) on Pearsall in April’s draft.