The 49ers’ Week 18 loss to the Seahawks prevented them from securing the No. 1 seed in the NFC and a division title. To worsen matters, the 49ers’ banged-up defense took more shots in the regular-season finale.
Linebacker Tatum Bethune will miss the postseason after suffering a groin injury, head coach Kyle Shanahan announced (via Nick Wagoner of ESPN). Fellow linebackers Dee Winters (ankle) and Luke Gifford (quadriceps) are also dealing with injuries from the Seattle game. Their statuses for the wild-card round are uncertain, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
As a 2024 seventh-round pick, Bethune barely factored into the 49ers’ defense as a rookie. The former Florida State Seminole played 11 games and logged 165 of his 216 snaps on special teams.
Bethune remained a relatively anonymous member of the 49ers’ roster early this season, but he took on a far bigger role when all-world linebacker Fred Warner broke and dislocated his ankle in a Week 6 win over the Buccaneers.
Warner’s injury opened up playing time for Bethune, who wound up starting in eight of 14 appearances and totaling 94 tackles. While Pro Football Focus ranked Bethune’s performance an unspectacular 69th among 88 qualifying linebackers, he earned a respectable 73.2 grade against the run.
Warner hasn’t played in almost three months, though there’s hope he’ll return if the 49ers make a deep playoff run. Shanahan said Monday that Warner may come back if the 49ers reach the NFC Championship Game (via Matt Barrows of the The Athletic). In the meantime, sixth-seeded San Francisco will have to go on the road to beat Philadelphia this weekend and then knock off another opponent in the divisional round.
The 49ers’ defense will face more adversity if Winters and Gifford can’t go Sunday. Winters finished second among 49ers defenders with a 91.5% snap share, trailing only cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, and picked up 101 tackles, five passes defensed and an interception. Gifford’s a lesser presence on defense, but he earned his first Pro Bowl nod for his work on special teams. He led the 49ers’ ST unit with an 80.9% snap share in 2025.
In the event Winters and Gifford are unavailable this week, the 49ers will go into the playoffs with Eric Kendricks (currently on the practice squad), Curtis Robinson and Garret Wallow as their top options at linebacker, Barrows notes. Kendricks is a former Pro Bowler with 143 starts on his resume, but the 33-year-old amassed just 46 defensive snaps in three games with the 49ers during the regular season. Robinson has only started three games (all in 2025) during his five-year career, while Wallow’s most recent start came with the Texans in 2022. The 49ers claimed him off waivers from the Broncos on Dec. 6. A month later, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh may have to rely on Wallow in the playoffs.
Saleh’s defense overcame long-term injuries to Warner and Nick Bosa, who tore his ACL in Week 3, during a 12-win campaign. As injuries continue to mount ahead of the postseason, Saleh’s job isn’t getting any easier.
Might be an addition by subtraction there with Kendricks filling in. Wasn’t that impressed with Bethune’s play but honestly with the devastation of the LB’s, there’s not much they can really do.
Was pretty crazy that near the end of the game vs SEA, Saleh almost had to be forced into a nickel package with all the injuries that was happening.
Also, watching the replay where Winters got hurt … he had a lane to stuff Darnold from rushing for a first before the tackle stepped on his ankle. Just terrible luck/timing..
Of course he is. Why else would we expect a healthy roster this year?
Eagles getting a banged up 49er team for sure. You need talent, good luck and health to make the Super bowl run…. Hate seeing teams banged up going into the playoffs after the hard work all year.