The 2022 NFL season is in the books, and the 49ers are ready to turn the page to 2023. San Francisco fell in the NFC Championship Game for a second straight postseason, and while losing isn't ideal, it does show that the 49ers are Super Bowl contenders.
49ers linebacker Fred Warner noted the source that allows the team to be in the mix for the Vince Lombardi Trophy over the last few years during a Friday appearance on KNBR's "Murph & Mac" show.
"I think that we are building the right stuff," Warner said. "I think ever since I've gotten here, [coach] Kyle [Shanahan] and [general manager] John [Lynch] have brought in guys who just love the game and are the right type of guys to ultimately get to where we want to go.
"And it's just a small little inch that we're right there. It's not like we're far off. It's right there. And our time is coming."
Warner and the 49ers have been close to becoming champions as they were in Super Bowl LIV and then were in the NFC title game in back-to-back years. So the 26-year-old isn't stretching the truth when he says San Francisco is right there.
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San Francisco 49ers
One aspect the 49ers will need to figure out heading into the 2023 season will be who leads them under center. Warner backed Brock Purdy as the reason San Francisco made it to the 2023 NFC title game.
There likely is a quarterback battle ahead for Purdy and former first-round pick Trey Lance, the biggest question following San Francisco into a long offseason.