Fred Warner Week 4 DPOY performance overshadowed by mysterious ankle injury

Simply put: Fred Warner was a beast on the gridiron Sunday.

The San Francisco 49ers star linebacker had a hall-of-fame caliber performance Week 4 against the New England Patriots, dominating all that crossed his path. Warner finished the game with seven combined tackles, one pass break-up and one highlight-reel interception that got taken back for a touchdown.

The pick-six was one of the biggest plays of the game, both individually and for the 49ers.

Up 6-0 at the start of the second quarter, Warner high-pointed a wary pass from Brissett over the middle, falling to the ground in the process. The star linebacker popped up and used the blocks from his teammates to find his way towards the near sideline. Needing a little extra at the end, Warner dove into the endzone for the 45-yard score to put SF up, 13-0.

The BYU product was on fire Sunday, until he was seemingly off the field altogether.

Fred Warner went to the locker room shortly before halftime due an ankle injury. The LB re-emerged from the tunnel 20 minutes late still suited up, but never returned to the field. He never showed signs of agony prior to being off the field, nor did he show any lingering pain as he coached up his defense from the sideline.

Did the 49ers bench Warner to preserve his body already up big on an inferior opponent? Possible, but unlikely.  Coming from the man’s mouth: It takes a lot to see Fred Warner skip plays on gameday.

“It was all based off of feel. Like I said, it’d take a lot for me to tap out, so I mean if I could have been out there, I would’ve been,” he said postgame to the media. “We’ll get more information as we go with scans and all that, but I feel good right now.”

Fred Warner breaks down his pick six and provides an update on his ankle ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/NovkRo57xm

— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) September 30, 2024

The All-Pro LB has been a pillar of stability for the 49ers; the past half-decade. In fact, he’s only missed one contest in his career, starting 114 of 115 possible games in his seven-year career. His lone absence came in 2021 against the Seattle Seahawks.

Now in 2024, he’s come into his own class, becoming the next out-of-this-world middle linebacker sent down from the football gods. Hyperbole? Yes, but not really. Because that’s how good Fred Warner has become, the best since Luke Kuechly donned the Carolina Panthers uniform.

“I do a little bit,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said about Warner’s play evolving. “It’s kind of hard to say that, he’s been so good every year. But the way he’s started out this year, it’s been a big-time year for him so far.”

Now entering the thick of the NFL schedule, SF can’t afford to lose their defensive captain for an extended period. What he means not only on the field, but off of it as well, is paramount for the 49ers’ engine to keep working.

But as of right now, there is no update on his status, with tests to follow in the coming days.

“I don’t, I know Fred tried to go, came out in third quarter and tried to go, but didn’t feel like he could,” Shanahan added.

In lieu of the bloodbath of injuries the 49ers have faced this season, losing Warner would be the worse of them all. The 49ers have been able to get by without stars, like Christian McCaffrey, for the time being; Getting through the team’s increasingly daunting schedule ahead without their captain could be fatal.

Yes, the Red & Gold defense has serious talent, and got through the second of Week 4 without Warner. But that was also against the Patriots, arguably one of the worst rosters in the NFL today. The stretch ahead: Cardinals, Seahawks, Chiefs and Cowboys, it’ll take a herculean-effort from all to emerge even 2-2.

Week 4’s win put the 49ers back one track. But in order to stay on track, they need Fred Warner at the peak of his powers running that defense.

“It feels good to get a win. It’s such a long year. If you looked from an outsider’s perspective or looked online, you’d think the building’s burning down,” defensive end Nick Bosa said postgame.

If his All-Pro counterpart is indeed sidelined, the burn of a building could go from a mild ember, to a damn forest-fire in rapid succession.

San Francisco 49ers 2024 Schedule:

Regular Season

• Sunday, October 6th vs. Arizona Cardinals – 1:05 pm PDT
• Thursday, October 10th @ Seattle Seahawks [TNF] – 5:15 pm PDT
• Sunday, October 20th vs. Kansas City Chiefs [SB LVIII Rematch]– 1:25 pm PDT
• Sunday, October 27th vs. Dallas Cowboys [SNF] – 5:20 pm PDT
• Week 9 Bye Week

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