Is letting All-Pro play through ugly injury a mistake for 49ers?

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner. David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Is letting three-time All-Pro play through grueling injury a mistake for the 49ers?

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Nov 27, 2024 5:09 PM ET

Should the San Francisco 49ers let star linebacker Fred Warner continue to play through a grueling injury?

On Wednesday, Warner revealed he's been battling a fractured ankle throughout the season. He said he suffered the injury in a Week 4 win against the New England Patriots. Since then, he has been injected with painkillers before every game.

"It's something I deal with before every game," Warner said, via The Athletic's David Lombardi. "I get on the table before every game and get shot up before every single game just to be able to roll. It's not an excuse. That's the NFL. You're not gonna be healthy...It was a fracture when I sprained it. Anytime you fracture a bone, if you continue to play on it, the bone's not going to be able to heal itself. So, you just got to be able to fight through it."

Fred Warner on the ankle fracture he's been playing through:

"It's something I deal with before every game. I get on that table before every game and get shot up every single game just to be able to roll. It's not an excuse. That's the NFL. You're not gonna be healthy... It was… https://t.co/ofsKwqnAxw
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) November 27, 2024

Although Warner's willing to play through the pain, asking why the 49ers haven't rested him seems fair.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, recovering from a fractured ankle takes 12-16 weeks if it doesn't require surgery. Returning to the field too quickly can cause more damage.

Warner — a three-time first-team All-Pro — still has 50 solo tackles in 11 games, but his Pro Football Focus grade has plummeted since the injury.

Warner posted an above-average 89.1 Pro Football Focus grade through his first four games. Over his past seven games, that figure has dropped to 62.1. In a Week 12 loss to the Green Bay Packers, he recorded a season-low 44.7 mark.

The 49ers (5-6) have fallen to last in the NFC West after losing two of their last three games. NFL.com gives them a 15% chance to make the playoffs. It will decrease to 10% if the Niners lose to the Bills (9-2) in Sunday's road game.

If its postseason odds keep dwindling, San Francisco should consider shutting Warner down for the rest of the season. The 49ers don't want to keep putting the 28-year-old LB at risk.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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