SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner, who began the season as if shot from a cannon, has looked a lot more ordinary over the last two months.
On Wednesday he revealed why: He’s been playing with a fractured ankle since the 49ers’ Week 4 win over the New England Patriots.
“It was a fracture when I sprained it,” Warner said at his locker. “So any time you fracture a bone, if you just continue to play on it, the bone is usually not going to be able to heal. So you’ve just got to continue to fight through.”
Warner had an interception return for a touchdown against the Patriots but suffered the ankle injury shortly before halftime and did not return. He was listed on the injury report with an ankle issue heading into the Weeks 5 and 6 games but has not been listed beyond that and has not missed any starts. He was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice just as he had been in previous weeks. But he said the injury is a constant impediment.
“It’s something I deal with every game,” he said. “I get on that table before the game and get it shot up every single game just to be able to roll. But it’s not an excuse. It’s just what it is. That’s the NFL. You’re not gonna be healthy. You’ve got to get out there and find ways to execute and to play at a high level and to win every single week.”
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Warner’s admission explains the noticeable dip his season has taken.
Early on, he looked like one of the frontrunners for Defensive Player of the Year, forcing three fumbles, breaking up four passes and coming down with the interception-turned-touchdown over the first four games. He seemed to be everywhere during a Week 2 loss in Minnesota and singlehandedly kept the 49ers competitive in that contest.
Following the Patriots game, however, his play has fallen off. And it reached a low point Sunday when Warner was cited for four missed tackles, the most of his career, in a game in which the Green Bay Packers and running back Josh Jacobs gained 169 rushing yards.
As the 49ers went into their Week 9 bye, Warner noted that he hadn’t been at full strength since the injury. His performance against the Packers invited more questions about his health on Wednesday, and this time Warner felt compelled to share the details.
“I probably shouldn’t get too much into it — I probably already made a mistake by even saying it,” he said. “But, yeah, back when I hurt it there was a bone fracture there.”
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Warner’s injury adds to a theme the 49ers have dealt with all season: They have perhaps the NFL’s most talented roster but that talent either has been missing or playing injured this year. Of the nine 49ers voted to the Pro Bowl last season, only Warner and Kyle Juszczyk have appeared in every game so far, and Warner has dealt with a broken bone since Sept. 29.
Warner spoke on the same day his longtime linebacker partner, Dre Greenlaw, returned to practice following his torn Achilles suffered in the Super Bowl in February. Though Greenlaw is not expected to be activated for Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills, Warner said seeing Greenlaw in his uniform gave the defense a lift.
“Much needed,” he said. “I’ve been watching him through his rehab for a while now. He’s been getting closer and closer. So I’m excited to finally see him out there running around a little bit.”
Odds and ends
• Brock Purdy attempted two very short passes in the first 20 minutes of Wednesday’s practice but otherwise didn’t attempt any throws. Purdy (throwing shoulder) was listed as limited in the practice.
The session resembled last Wednesday’s for Purdy. That is, he did everything short of releasing the football. At this time last week, the 49ers thought he’d be ready to play against the Packers. But he didn’t feel right at the start of Thursday’s practice and was shut down from that point on. In that way, Thursday’s practice this week ought to be telling as far as whether he’ll play against the Bills. If he doesn’t, Brandon Allen will make his second straight start.
Brock Purdy threw two very short passes at the beginning of Wednesday’s practice. Otherwise he watched the other QB’s throw — just like last Wednesday.
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— @mattbarrows (@mattbarrows.bsky.social) November 27, 2024 at 2:08 PM
• Those not practicing Wednesday included tackle Trent Williams (ankle/heel), guard Aaron Banks (concussion), defensive end Nick Bosa (hip/oblique), defensive tackle Jordan Elliott (concussion), cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (knee), linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (knee) and running back Christian McCaffrey (rest).
Like Purdy, guard Dominick Puni (shoulder), defensive tackle Kevin Givens (groin) and Greenlaw (Achilles) were limited.
Bosa said he’s “made a good amount of progress” and is “feeling a lot better” than he did a week ago. He said that the fact that Sunday’s game is on an artificial surface — the 49ers’ last such game of the regular season — will not factor into whether he plays.
“I still need to get better before I’m ready to go, so this week will be big,” he said. “And I’ll know more in the next couple of days.”
Williams, meanwhile, was seen getting around via a knee scooter. He’d said previously that his injury makes even walking painful.
Return man Jacob Cowing is out of the concussion protocol while cornerback Charvarius Ward practiced in full on Wednesday.
• Consider the plight of Ben Bartch. If the 49ers had activated Jon Feliciano from injured reserve on Monday like they wanted to, they would have had to cut someone to make room on the roster. A prime candidate: Bartch, who had been inactive for the first 10 games.
Feliciano’s knee, however, continued to be problematic and he’ll remain on IR for the remainder of the season. Not only does Bartch hold onto his roster spot, but Banks’ concussion might give him his first start for the 49ers.
• The 49ers have all sorts of obstacles on Sunday, including their litany of injuries and the fact that the 9-2 Bills are coming off their bye. And here’s one more: It might snow this weekend in Buffalo.
As of now the forecast is calling for a few inches in Buffalo on Saturday and for the brunt of a big storm to pass south of the city. Though the 49ers haven’t played a snow game since their playoff win over the Packers in January 2022, several 49ers noted they have plenty of experience playing in the snow.
Colorado native McCaffrey remembered being a 7-year-old middle linebacker and facing his bitter rival, the Cherry Creek Bruins, in a blizzard. He said the game went to double overtime and ended on a last-second play.
“They tried a double pass,” he recalled. “I tipped it and just remember all the parents — it felt like you were playing in front of 70,000 but it was probably, like, 12 people there — all the parents stormed the field. I actually remember crying at that game. And I think that’s when I decided I wanted to play football.”
(Photo: Lachlan Cunningham / Getty Images)
