49ers Could've Prevented Fred Warner's Season-Ending Injury

Fred Warner should still be playing this season if the 49ers didn't make this inexcusable mistake.

Oct 12, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; San Francisco 49ers middle linebacker Fred Warner (54) is carted off the field during the first quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Season-ending injuries are typically unavoidable. There was nothing the San Francisco 49ers could do to prevent or reduce the chance of Nick Bosa tearing his ACL.

However, there was something the 49ers could do to prevent or reduce the chance of Fred Warner suffering a season-ending ankle fracture/dislocation against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

On the play that Warner got hurt on, the 49ers had only 10 players on the field. The player missing was the right side defensive end, which is where the Buccaneers ran it to.

With no defensive end to take on offensive tackle Tristin Wirfs, it forces Warner to attack him instead of the pulling tight end Cade Otton. Use the tweet below for reference.

Fred Warner should still be playing man... https://t.co/BRz8kkVaJx pic.twitter.com/R1x7imfcWj

— Jose Sanchez (@JS3sanchez_) October 14, 2025

Warner should still be playing. He should still have his 2025 season going strong. Instead, he's out for the season because no one noticed a defensive end was missing. That falls on the coaches.

What Kyle Shanahan said about the failure

Oct 2, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan during the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

On Monday, Kyle Shanahan explained why there wasn't a defensive end on the inexcusable mistake that put Warner in that position.

“Because he was out on special teams, we thought he was out there and he came off the field," Shanahan said. "We didn't realize it until the snap and needed 11 out there. Would've called a timeout if I saw it, but I didn't and it was an unfortunate mistake.”

Shanahan wouldn't reveal who the defensive end was supposed to be on that play.

However, the previous special teams play was a kickoff for the 49ers. The only defensive end on it was Trevis Gipson, who the 49ers barely activated off the practice squad the day before the game.

It's tough to blame him. This was Gipson's second game of the season. He's liable to get lost out there and make a mistake. It happens for practice squad players. The 49ers should've prepared for that.

Absolutely wild brain fart. Definitely impacted the end result. No DE to that side they gashed on and Fred comes down to fill and gets rolled on. Insane whoever let that happen. No one noticed and should’ve been a timeout right away. https://t.co/N3a9ZP6w3V

— Rich (@richjmadrid) October 13, 2025

It's one thing if the 49ers didn't have rookie Mykel Williams out there. Williams should or would've known to go out on the field. I would understand why the 49ers aren't watching for him.

But they have to for Gipson. He had seven defensive snaps going into this game. Of course, he was going to get confused. The 49ers coaches clearly didn't communicate that to him effectively.

Even if they did, they still failed Warner by not noticing that a key piece was missing on the defensive line. Shanahan is at fault, defensive line coach Kris Kocurek is at fault, and so is Robert Saleh.

Usually, they operate as a high-level coaching staff. Unfortunately, this one lapse has cost Warner his 2025 season as well as the team's trajectory.

Follow Jose on X (Twitter) @JS3sanchez_to interact with him on the 49ers.

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