San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Kendrick Bourne recently shared a moving story about Fred Warner‘s leadership following the All-Pro linebacker’s devastating Week 6 ankle injury. Warner, a team captain, suffered a fractured and dislocated ankle during the loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was confirmed by the head coach on Monday to be undergoing surgery on Tuesday and will be missing out on the game for the remainder of the 2025 season.

Appearing on the Richard Sherman Podcast, Bourne recounted the moment Warner entered the locker room on crutches after the game. Despite his season being over, Warner’s focus was on his teammates.

“He just told us not to worry about him,” Bourne said, recalling Warner’s reassuring message. “The way he works on the field, you know he’s going to attack the rehab. But it took the life out of us in that game.”

49ers linebacker Fred Warner has established himself as one of the NFL’s premier defenders over eight seasons. The 29-year-old has started all 121 games he’s played, accumulating 948 combined tackles (597 solo, 351 assists) with 10 interceptions and 9 sacks. His 38 tackles for loss and 30 QB hits demonstrate versatility beyond traditional coverage linebacker metrics.

Warner’s trophy case includes four Pro Bowl selections (2021-2024) and three First-Team All-Pro honors (2021-2024), finishing sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2023. His peak seasons came from 2021 to 2024, consistently posting 130+ tackles annually while maintaining elite coverage skills evidenced by 17 pass deflections in both 2022 and 2023. Losing Warner is a big blow for the 49ers.

Having already lost star pass-rusher Nick Bosa (ACL) for the year due to a devastating season-killing knee injury, the 49ers’ defense faces a challenging future. However, Bourne stressed that Warner flipped the narrative, challenging the remaining players. These injuries are a crucible, and this is the perfect chance for lesser-known players to step up and showcase their skills on the field. 

Warner’s words haven’t just motivated his teammates but have also been noticed by the head coach, Kyle Shanahan, as he said during the press conference.

“Fred’s not only as impressive of a football player I’ve ever been around, but as impressive of a human as I’ve ever been around,” Shanahan said. “That’s why we know he will come back next year stronger than ever.” 

Both the coach and the team captain have their visions for the future clear, as it doesn’t dwell on the mistakes made in the past but on the road that lies ahead.

As Fred Warner gets sidelined, who will be the 49ers’ new leader?

The 49ers are facing an enormous challenge, kicking off practice this Wednesday without their defensive star, Fred Warner. So, the question that follows after the recent events is, who is stepping up? That job falls to cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, a first-time captain who is now the last defensive leader standing. Lenoir knows the team has to pull together, and he’s ready to enforce accountability. As he put it:

 “I feel like where I could fill in. You know, hold everybody accountable, make sure that we all are working as one.”

As Bourne said on the podcast, “It’s gonna show who we are, who our backups are like now it’s opps (oppurtunity) for other people and I go back to me and Mack Jones. We were kind of ready for our opps and it showing so whoever’s behind Fred, whoever is behind whoever gets down. Who are you? Are you gonna step into your time? We want to focus on that because it’s hard to keep mourning, bro.” The mentality is next man up. And right now 49ers need a lot of that.

The good news is the team isn’t planning a complete overhaul. Even with Warner gone, Lenoir says he and the other players are committed to continuing his leadership style. They know the defense might look weaker right now, but they’re still 4-2, and they believe they have enough healthy talent and returning players to stay competitive and keep their season alive. This Wednesday is the first true test of that resilience. The team is scheduled to play against the Atlanta Falcons in their week 7 matchup.