The very strange 2026 for the 49ers included the February shooting of defensive end Keion White in a San Francisco bar and nightclub, which reportedly happened after the rapper Lil Baby and White got into an argument when Lil Baby’s entourage tried to enter White’s private party.
White recently spoke about his recovery from the shooting, in an interview with Vic Tafur of The Athletic.
“It’s different because it’s trauma instead of just, like, breaking an ankle with a sports-related injury,” White told Tafur earlier this week. “When you hurt yourself in football, there’s a protocol for damn near everything. Football players don’t just get shot every day. . . . I mean, I guess they do on this team.”
White was making a joke of sorts regarding the fact that, two years ago on Labor Day weekend, receiver Ricky Pearsall was shot during a robbery attempt in San Francisco.
“It was a gunshot to the foot,” White said regarding his injury. “I broke my talus bone, so I had to have surgery — two screws in there. But, yeah, brush it off. [I] literally was making jokes as I was going to the hospital.”
White told Tafur he never feared for his life; however, White reportedly has declined to identify the shooter.
“The funny part is, I was actually the one calming everybody else down,” White said. “I don’t really take a lot of things seriously. I didn’t even know I got shot until like five minutes after, as I was walking around.”
White’s attempt to downplay the situation included a joke about a past injury to the other foot that required screws.
“I got screws in each ankle now, so I’m symmetrical,” White said.
He said that it was a “touch-and-go situation right up to the beginning of training camp,” but he has been able to practice and is ready to play.
As Tafur explains, the 49ers need White to play and play well. As the regular season approaches, defensive end Mykel Williams (knee) is out, Nick Bosa (knee) is still recovering from his latest ACL tear, Sam Okuayinonu (foot) is out, and rookie Romello Height has an ankle issue.
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