The 49ers lost a pair of heart-and-soul defensive stars in Nick Bosa and Fred Warner to major injuries earlier this season. Bosa will not return after tearing his ACL in Week 3. Warner went down with a dislocated ankle three weeks later.
At 11-4, the 49ers have somehow overcome the long-term absences of their two best defensive players. San Francisco will earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC if it closes out the regular season with wins over two other conference contenders in Chicago and Seattle.
If the 49ers secure the top spot and land a first-round bye, it could make a Warner comeback more likely. Odds were heavily against the linebacker playing again this season when he underwent surgery in mid-October, though he has been pushing for it all along. There’s now a possibility Warner will factor in during the playoffs.
The four-time first-team All-Pro’s rehab has gone so well that the 49ers are reexamining a potential postseason return, general manager John Lynch told KNBR (via Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group). It’s a surprising turnaround in light of comments Lynch made three weeks ago.
“Well, medically, no,” Lynch said on Dec. 5 of a possible playoff comeback for Warner. “I mean, the docs say it’s probably on the wrong side of the range that they would suggest. But even the docs with Fred say, ‘You know what, let him rehab as if he’s coming back for something and we’ll see where he’s at.’”
The playoffs begin on Jan. 10, which will mark 90 days since Warner incurred his gruesome injury on Oct. 12. The 49ers fell to 4-2 with a loss to the Buccaneers that day, but they’ve rallied to win seven of nine since. Tatum Bethune, a 2024 seventh-round pick, has taken on the monumental task of working as Warner’s primary replacement.
Bethune was almost exclusively a special teamer when he grabbed the reins in the middle of the 49ers’ defense, but the second-year man has done well filling in for a franchise icon. Over 12 games (six starts), Bethune has recorded 76 tackles and two passes defensed. Pro Football Focus ranks Bethune 43rd among 86 qualifying linebackers. While respectable, that’s a far cry from Warner, who’s still PFF’s top-ranked LB for 2025.
Warner won’t factor in again in 2025, but January 2026 may prove to be a different story if his rehab continues moving at a lightning-quick pace. Depending on how healthy he is a few weeks from now, Warner could give the 49ers a major boost as they vie for their third Super Bowl berth (and first win) of his eight-year career. Should the 49ers run through the NFC next month, they’ll play the Super Bowl at their home field, Levi’s Stadium, on Feb. 8.
Dude is a beast!