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Fowler: With Brock Purdy's deal done, 49ers must shift focus to Fred Warner

Originally posted on 49ers Webzone | By David Bonilla | Last updated May 17, 2025 6:57 PM ET

The San Francisco 49ers have checked off the biggest item on their offseason to-do list, agreeing to a five-year, $256 million contract extension with quarterback Brock Purdy. That deal follows the team making All-Pro George Kittle the NFL's highest-paid tight end.

But the 49ers' offseason work may not be done just yet. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler says the team should now turn its attention to another star player, this time on the defensive side of the ball—linebacker Fred Warner.

The situation is, of course, different. Warner still has two years remaining on the five-year, $95 million extension he signed in 2021, so there isn't the same urgency as there was with Purdy and Kittle, who were both entering contract years.

"Right now, everybody's happy, but they have to do something with Fred Warner—star linebacker, probably the best in the game, only 28 years old," Fowler recently said on SportsCenter. "He's got really big cap hits the next two years—$29 million and $27 million."

#49ers and Brock Purdy get win-win - and a drama-free offseason
League owners meetings - what the playoff reseeding proposal means@SportsCenter with @shaepeppler pic.twitter.com/VIWI40RG6Y
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) May 17, 2025

Warner also carries a $9.5 million cap hit in 2027, a void year in his current deal. The 49ers can reduce his cap hit over the next two seasons with an extension, leading to speculation that something might get done with the linebacker this offseason.

"So they want to rework his deal, maybe extend him," Fowler continued, "and then you would have three stars done. You don't have to worry about any more contracts, really, for the rest of the offseason."

Warner has been an active participant in the 49ers' offseason program and, for now, has no intention of applying pressure to get a new deal done.

"I get paid plenty already," Warner said after the team reported for the start of the offseason program. "But listen, that whole part of it, I know my agent, and the team, and all that, that'll all handle itself out. I'm just, obviously, ready to just go to work and be the best version of myself."

This article first appeared on 49ers Webzone and was syndicated with permission.

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