The one player the 49ers couldn’t lose, they have lost.
Linebacker Fred Warner left on a cart with a serious right ankle injury.
The 49ers immediately ruled him out.
Warner has missed only one game in his eight-year career, sitting out a game in 2021 with a hamstring injury. He played through a broken bone in his ankle last season.
This ankle injury, though, appeared far worse.
Warner was injured with 7:48 remaining in the first quarter on a 10-yard run by Rachaad White as he got rolled into from behind by teammate Ji’Ayir Brown. It was a gruesome injury that CBS limited replays of.
The medical staff put an air cast on Warner’s ankle, and his teammates wished him well before he was carted into the training room.
He had one tackle before leaving.
The 49ers trail the Bucs 7-3.
The 49ers started the game without Nick Bosa, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, Brock Purdy and Ricky Pearsall, among others. Tatum Bethune has replaced Warner.
Mac Jones threw only one interception in his first three starts for the 49ers. He had a costly one early in Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers, though it wasn’t his fault.
Kindle Vildor picked Jones on a pass intended for Kendrick Bourne, and the defensive back returned it 13 yards to the San Francisco 12. Bourne blamed himself for the interception for not adjusting his route as Jones expected.
Two Rachaad White runs later, the Bucs had a 7-0 lead.
The Bucs punted on their first drive.
White has three carries for 17 yards, and Baker Mayfield is 3-for-4 for 21 yards.
The 49ers won’t have starting quarterback Brock Purdy or starting wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, who were ruled out Friday. They will, however, have quarterback Mac Jones and wide receiver Jauan Jennings.
Jones (knee/oblique) and Jennings (ankle/rib) were questionable to play.
Jones will start for the fourth time this season despite being limited in all three practices.
Jennings played the first two games, missed Week 3 with ankle and shoulder injuries, played Week 4 and missed the Week 5 game with his ankle and rib injuries.
The 49ers’ inactives are Purdy (toe), Pearsall (knee), wide receiver Jordan Watkins (calf), defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos (hamstring), linebacker Nick Martin and running back Jordan James.
The Bucs’ inactives are wide receiver Mike Evans, wide receiver Chris Godwin (fibula), running back Bucky Irving (foot/shoulder), cornerback Zyon McCollum (thumb), cornerback Benjamin Morrison (hamstring) and running back Josh Williams (concussion). All were ruled out on Friday.
The Bucs will see the return of cornerback Jamel Dean, who missed last week’s game with a hip injury.
The 49ers have made a few bad quarterback decisions in recent years. In March, they made a very good one.
When it was time to sign a new backup quarterback, they persuaded Mac Jones to commit for two years, not one.
Beyond the fact that the contract keeps Jones from exiting after only one season, like Sam Darnold did following 2023, it gives the 49ers a chance to make a fully-informed decision regarding their starting quarterback for 2027 and beyond.
Brock Purdy’s long-term deal isn’t. The 49ers have a major decision to make on or before April 1, 2027, when $55.05 million becomes fully guaranteed for 2028. And while cutting ties with Purdy before 4/1/27 would leave the team on the hook for $27.25 million in 2027, the amount would be subject to offset if someone else signs Purdy to a starter-level deal.
And so the 49ers can let the 2025 and 2026 seasons play out before making a decision between Jones and Purdy.
For now, Jones is checking all the right boxes. Per NBC Sports research, Jones could become on Sunday at Tampa Bay the third quarterback in team history to win four straight games while throwing for 275 or more yards in each one, joining Joe Montana (who did it twice) and Steve Young (who did it once). Every time Montana and Young accomplished that feat, they were named the first-team All-Pro quarterback for the season in which it happened. Twice (Montana in 1990 and Young in 1994), the quarterback who did it was named NFL MVP.
For now, the 49ers are downplaying talk of any tension between Purdy and Jones. But friction is inevitable; Montana and Young didn’t get along. As Young tells it, he once went to dinner at Montana’s house, and Montana’s daughter asked, “Is this the guy we hate?”
Yes, Purdy has taken the 49ers to a Super Bowl. So did Jimmy Garoppolo. So did Montana, four times (all wins). The team will always make the decision that it believes meshes with its best interests, with past achievements not getting in the way of the right path for the future. And the Purdy and Jones contracts line up in a way that points to a sweet spot between the end of the 2026 season and April 1, 2027.
There’s a lot of football to be played between now and then. And there’s a good chance that, by then, the right answer will become obvious. Regardless, by getting Jones to sign a two-year deal, the 49ers have given themselves a full and fair chance to compare and contrast both players before making a choice that is becoming murkier by the week.
Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams picked up one of the biggest fines of this NFL season for a hit with his helmet after the play was over on Sunday.
Williams was fined $46,371 for head butting Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton during a post-play skirmish in the end zone.
That’s more than twice as much as any other NFL player was fined in Week Five, but the NFL takes striking with the helmet seriously, whether it’s during a play or after.
Williams’ penalty gave the Buccaneers an automatic first down and half the distance to the goal line, and they scored a touchdown on the next play.
