On October 12, 49ers linebacker Fred Warner fractured and dislocated his ankle, and the team announced that he would miss the rest of the season. But with the playoffs approaching, Warner may be on the field.
49ers General Manager John Lynch said on KNBR that Warner is well ahead of schedule, changing doctors’ perceptions of when he could be cleared, and might play in the playoffs.
“It would be well ahead of the original timeline we were given, but Fred has the ability to move the doctors because they’re going to put objective measurements out there where, ‘Hey, if you can reach these, you can get there,’” Lynch said, via NBCSportsBayArea.com. “And Fred has continually done that. I think it’s made a lot of people kind of re-examine. ‘OK, would this be possible?’ And I think that’s a great thing. So I’m watching him. I’ve consistently said it: I won’t put anything past him.”
Warner was a first-team All-Pro for three consecutive years before his 2025 season got cut short, so if Warner can return and play at his usual high level, it would be a huge boost to the 49ers in the playoffs. That now sounds realistic.
The 49ers may have two of their injured key contributors when they play the Bears on Sunday.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said in his Friday press conference that tight end George Kittle and receiver Ricky Pearsall are both questionable for the Week 17 contest.
Kittle suffered an ankle sprain during Monday’s victory over the Colts and has not practiced all week. But he has not been ruled out for Sunday night’s matchup, with Shanahan noting that Kittle would have a better idea of his availability on Saturday.
Kittle has missed five games this season, recording 52 receptions for 599 yards with seven touchdowns.
Pearsall missed Monday night’s win over the Colts with a knee issue, but made it through the practice week OK, according to Shanahan.
Cornerback Renardo Green (neck) is out for the second game in a row.
Quarterback Kurtis Rourke (knee) has also been ruled out while still on the non-football injury list.
The Bears practiced without cornerback Nahshon Wright on Friday and they’ll make a call on his availability against the 49ers closer to Sunday night’s kickoff.
Wright has been listed as questionable to play this weekend. He has a hamstring injury as well as an illness that limited him in practice before keeping him on the sideline for all of Friday’s session.
While the Bears will wait to see if Wright can go, they are certain about wide receiver Rome Odunze’s status. Odunze has been ruled out with a foot injury.
It will be the fourth straight game that Odunze misses for the Bears, but head coach Ben Johnson said this week that he expects Odunze back at some point this season.
The Bears can guarantee that Odunze has a chance to play in a home playoff game by beating the 49ers. They’ll also clinch the NFC North if the Packers lose to the Ravens on Saturday.
Cornerback Nick McCloud (illness) has also been ruled out. Defensive back Josh Blackwell (illness), linebacker T.J. Edwards (glute), safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (knee), and offensive lineman Luke Newman (foot) are listed as questionable.
With the Lions losing on Christmas Day in Minnesota, the NFC playoff field is nearly set.
The NFC’s postseason qualifiers are the Seahawks, Bears, Eagles, Rams, 49ers, Packers, and the eventual winner of the NFC South.
It will be the Panthers or the Buccaneers winning that division, and hosting a wild-card game as the No. 4 seed against the No. 5 seed.
As to the rest of the seeding, it’s all TBD. Which gives the last two weekends some extra sizzle — possibly with the No. 1 seed coming down to the Week 18 game between the Seahawks and the 49ers.
Three NFC teams that didn’t make it last year are in for 2025: Bears, Seahawks, and 49ers. The number will increase to four if the Panthers take the NFC South from the Bucs, who have won it every year since 2021.
Bounced from the 2024 field are the Lions, Vikings, and Commanders. The failure of the Lions to make it is stunning; they were 15-2 last year. They’re 8-8 through sixteen games in 2025.
Over the weekend, 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk made waves by posting a video shot while driving his car at a high rate of speed in a 40 mph zone near Levi’s Stadium. On Wednesday, Aiyuk apologized.
“Sorry yall, my car content won’t come with speeding anymore!” Aiyuk said, via Alex Valdes on TheAthletic.com. “Was praying with my son tonight and wouldn’t want anybody else to miss out on an opportunity to do the same with their loved ones! My apologies.”
The incident came after the 49ers placed Aiyuk on the reserve/left squad list, ending his 2025 season. Before that, the 49ers wiped out the remaining $24.935 million in guarantees under the five-year, $134.1 million contract Aiyuk signed prior to the start of the 2024 season.
Aiyuk tore an ACL in Week 7 of the first year of his deal. Things seemed to deteriorate after that, culminating first in the team’s effort to cut off his remaining guaranteed payments (he didn’t fight the move) and then in the decision to shut him down for the balance of the 2025 season.
Aiyuk will likely be cut in the 2026 offseason. Whether he finds a new home at anything more than a modest one-year deal remains to be seen. Even with the apology, the various ups and downs (featuring more downs than ups) of his final months with the 49ers could make some teams leery about making a significant financial commitment to him, a pair of 1,000-yard seasons in 2022 and 2023 notwithstanding.
