SANTA CLARA – Fred Warner is in the eye of the 49ers’ defensive hurricane.
New teammates are swirling around him. He is not calm, however. He is All-Pro Fred, and that means he is hollering, hustling, and huddling up with intensity.
“He’s still the one out there chirping and yelling and screaming and getting everybody pumped up,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said. “So, he hasn’t changed in that regard. The game hasn’t jaded him, if that makes sense.”
Warner is also healthy. He wasn’t last season, yet played all 17 games, the final 13 on a fractured ankle that required a pain-killing shot before those games in a 6-11 lost season.
“It’s crossed my mind, especially going into camp now,” Warner said of his 2024 resiliency. “Now that I’m not having to think or worry about it, it’s a breath of fresh air to go out there and be myself again.”
San Francisco 49ers’ Fred Warner speaks during a press conference at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
What he’s done over seven seasons has not gone unnoticed, beyond his four All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors, not to mention leading the 49ers in tackles each and every year.
“He makes their defense go. I like him. He plays hard, man,” Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher said recently at the American Century Championship golf tournament at Lake Tahoe. “I don’t watch a lot of their games, but when I do watch, he gets to the football and I like that.”
Warner, 28, is seemingly on track to join former 49ers linebackers Patrick Willis and Dave Wilcox – and the Bears’ Urlacher – in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“He’s already a Hall of Famer in my mind. He’s one of the best, if not the best linebacker in our current generation,” Saleh said. “Every day he brings it. It feels like he’s still a kid, doesn’t get old.”
San Francisco 49ers’ Fred Warner (54) practices at Levi’s Stadium practice field in Santa Clara, Calif., on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
That talent and leadership will be tested perhaps more than ever this season with a supporting cast that includes only a few holdover starters from last season: defensive end Nick Bosa, cornerback Deommodore Lenoir and safety Ji’Ayir Brown.
How can Warner help the defense overcome its inevitable growing pains?
“If you watch him in pass coverage, he understands where to fit. It’s unbelievable watching him read routes,” Urlacher added. “He understands throwing lanes and what routes they’re running. He’s just a really smart football player.”
Whereas Urlacher was a 6-foot-4 speed demon, Warner’s 6-3 frame comes with great range that makes him today’s prototype linebacker in a pass-happy league.
“With as smart as he is with certain concepts and understanding what an offense is trying to do, it’s always tough going against him,” said Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, who Warner intercepted and forced a fumble against last season in a Week 2 loss at Minnesota.
Darnold, the 49ers’ backup in 2023, is now a division rival as he takes over in Seattle. His season opener is Sept. 7 against the 49ers and a revitalized Warner, who has started and played 115-of-116 games in his career despite playing through pain at the most violent of positions.
“As much as he likes to fly around and likes to stick his nose in there, he’s always playing with some type of ailment, but he makes the most of every single snap,” Darnold said, also at the Tahoe tournament. “He’s super tall, super rangy and super tough to go against.”
San Francisco 49ers’ Fred Warner (54) gets instructions from defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen in the third quarter of an NFL game against the Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group
Warner alone cannot carry the 49ers’ comeback. Six to eight new starters will swirl around him.
Most notably, Dre Greenlaw will not be his wingman as the weak-side linebacker. The 49ers’ free agency purge resulted in Greenlaw going to the Denver Broncos, who’ll visit the 49ers for a joint practice Aug. 7 before the preseason opener two days later at Levi’s Stadium.
Injuries kept Greenlaw out most of the 2021 and ’24 seasons, however. So Warner essentially will be playing this season next to his fourth weak-side linebacker in five years (Azeez Al-Shaair, 2021; Greenlaw, 2022-23; De’Vondre Campbell, 2024).
Dee Winters, a third-year linebacker, has what coach Kyle Shanahan calls his “best opportunity” to secure that full-time role after flashing at times last season.
Rookie Nick Martin, a third-round pick, is widely seen as the top challenger. Also in the mix are veteran newcomers Luke Gifford and Chazz Surratt, along with holdovers Curtis Robinson (ACL comeback), Tatum Bethune, and Jalen Graham, plus undrafted rookie Stone Blanton.
Warner, after resting through organized team activities like past springs, is now in the thick of the Niners’ new-look defense.
“It was most definitely the longest offseason of my life. Not making the playoffs, it did feel long. It was needed,” Warner said. “Everybody kind of got the recovery, rejuvenation to feel that fire going into this camp. I fully expect it to be the most competitive and hard-fought camp we’ve had.”
San Francisco 49ers’ Fred Warner (54) has his photo taken with his wife, Sydney, and their baby boy, Beau, before an NFL game against the Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
In front of Warner this season will be a slew of new defensive linemen, including pass rusher Bryce Huff and top two draft picks Mykel Williams and Alfred Collins, the latter of whom is a 340-pound nose tackle who could vie for a starting job.
Related Articles
‘Sports czar’ is helping SJ take advantage of the Super Bowl, March Madness and World Cup coming in 2026
Would a home Super Bowl benefit 49ers’ chances? History suggests yes
49ers road trip playbook: Fans’ guide for what to eat, drink, see and do if you follow the team across the country this season
49ers’ report: Kittle could be headed for I.R., Purdy has toe, shoulder issues; Moody being evaluated
Photos: Former Gilroy home of 49er selling for $3.9 million
Warner’s advice to the rookie class: “Everybody is a human being, just like me. The biggest hurdle is that mental hurdle. ‘All right, my whole childhood, I’ve grown up watching these players on TV.’ Even in college, you watch players you admire from afar, then you’re finally here and it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s George Kittle. Oh my gosh, it’s Christian McCaffrey. Oh my gosh, it’s Nick Bosa.’
“You can’t fathom putting yourself on that same level as those guys who’ve been there and done it and earned it at the highest level,” Warner continued. “They’re all human beings. We were all rookies once. You’re here for a reason. You obviously have the talent to compete at this level.”
Warner is still the guy, as Urlacher said, who makes their defense go.