It was a costly 30-19 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the San Francisco 49ers. Fred Warner will miss the rest of the season after dislocating and breaking his ankle in the 49ers’ loss to Tampa Bay, head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed.
The injury happened in the first quarter when a teammate inadvertently struck Warner’s right leg while the 49ers were pursuing Buccaneers running back Rachaad White.
As for San Francisco, the question is, what’s next? The team already lost Nick Bosa for the season, and now Warner. Despite the latest injury news for the 49ers being disastrous for their defense, former NFL head coach Jason Garrett believes the franchise has the coaching staff to overcome Warner’s absence.
“If any team can handle it, they can,” Garrett said on the October 12 edition of “Football Night in America.” “Kyle Shanahan, as good as there is, not only as a head coach but as an offensive guy, and Robert Saleh the same way on the other side. But when Fred Warner is out of the lineup, I’ll tell you what—you become a different team.”
49ers React to Losing Fred Warner
On a young defensive unit, Warner was that steady veteran presence that could guide the players in the right direction. Now, some of them will need to begin flying solo out on the field.
After the loss, several 49ers players commented on seeing Warner go down and now not having his presence on the team going forward for the rest of the 2025 NFL.
“It’s heartbreaking,” left tackle Trent Williams said after the loss to the Buccaneers (h/t Nick Wagoner of ESPN). “Fred, not only is he one of the best linebackers to ever play the game, but he is the heart and soul of this team, not just the heart and soul of this defense.
“It’s one thing to see somebody go down and go to the blue tent, and nobody really knows what’s going on. When you see a guy that’s injured like that, it’s really like a gut punch. It’s really hard to continue the intensity and playing that game like that never happened.”
Injuries Begin to Stack Up for 49ers
Warner’s injury resonated beyond the Niners’ locker room. Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield began his postgame news conference by sending thoughts and prayers to Warner, a message that Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles also shared.
“It was sickening,” Bowles said (h/t Nick Wagoner of ESPN). “He’s one of the best players in the league. A great guy on top of that. You hate to see something like that happen. Hopefully, he has a speedy recovery. That kind of breaks your heart, no matter what side of the ball you’re on.”
For the 49ers, bouncing back after Warner’s injury will be even tougher with key defensive injuries. Bosa tore the ACL in his right knee in Week 3 and is out for the season.
San Francisco now faces the final 11 games without one of their top defenders while also dealing with injuries to tight end George Kittle (hamstring), quarterback Brock Purdy (toe), and receivers Ricky Pearsall (knee), Brandon Aiyuk (knee), and Jennings (ankle, ribs, shoulder).
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