49ers' Fred Warner calls shot for future Super Bowl win

Linebacker Fred Warner isn't lacking confidence regarding what the San Francisco 49ers can accomplish coming off the club's Super Bowl LVIII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs this past February. 

"Those things stay with you," Warner explained while speaking on NFL Network's "The Insiders" program, as shared by David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "In this league, you earn scars. Throughout the league, you face adversity. Losing the Super Bowl, of course, is as big of an adversity that you can hit, and it stays with you and it makes you stronger. It makes you better. I know I'll be better from it."

Warner joined the 49ers as a 2018 third-round draft pick and, thus, has been with the team during a run that included two Super Bowl losses and a pair of NFC Championship Game defeats from February 2020 through this past winter. In overtime of Super Bowl LVIII, the San Francisco defense was a fourth-down stop away from securing the franchise's first title since January 1995.

"I've watched it several times and seen different plays that we could have made to win that game, and you just got to be better for next time," Warner said about the 25-22 loss to the Chiefs. "It's not a matter of 'if' in my mind. It's a matter of 'when,' when we do go win one."

It's unclear how long the 49ers will be able to keep their core together before certain players leave to get paid elsewhere. As it pertains to the upcoming season, however, DraftKings Sportsbook had San Francisco as the betting favorite at +250 odds to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LIX as of May 23. 

During a Thursday appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Warner insisted the offseason months are "critical" for those who experienced the heartbreaking defeat less than four full months ago. 

"You've got to be really, really thoughtful about your offseason and making sure that you're fully recovered, not only just physically, but mentally and emotionally, from how draining that is," Warner said, per Bonilla. "And I feel like I'm as rejuvenated and excited about this year as I've ever been. And I think the goal going into this year is obviously to focus on finishing. I think that's as point-blank as it needs to be. We had opportunities in both Super Bowls that I've been in to finish, and we just didn't get the job done."

Warner and his teammates clearly are working hard to take positives from the emotions they felt on Super Bowl Sunday. Those inside the San Francisco locker room know they're talented enough to hang with any opponent but must silence chatter related to head coach Kyle Shanahan being unable to win the big one.