Injuries plagued the San Francisco 49ers' season during training camp, when they were so battered that they had to cancel joint practices with the New Orleans Saints.
This continued into the regular season, where a series of complaints cost players such as Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Nick Bosa, Trent Williams, Brock Purdy and Deebo Samuel games. It turns out that linebacker Fred Warner is also dealing with a pretty serious injury.
Warner told reporters after practice on Wednesday In week 4 he suffered a broken ankle against the New England Patriots. Since then, he has received pain-killing injections before every game in order to be able to play.
This helps explain some of the decline in production at the 49ers All-Pro middle linebacker. Pro Football Focus grades reflect how much the injury has affected Warner.
His overall grades in the first round were 92.6, 95.8, 71.5 and 96.6 – these are top values.
Warner's highest overall grade and his only game above 70.0 in seven games since the injury is 72.8, which came in Week 8 against the Dallas Cowboys. His grade of 44.7 last week against the Green Bay Packers was his worst grade since Week 12 of the 2021 season.
It wouldn't be a big surprise if Warner sat out if the 49ers were eliminated from the playoffs.