49ers Superstar Makes Surprising Admission About the Seahawks

Few players represent the success of the Kyle Shanahan era in San Francisco better than Fred Warner. Drafted in 2018, a season that was quickly derailed by a season-ending injury to Jimmy Garoppolo, Warner slid into the starting spot at linebacker from day one, immediately becoming an impact player on defense.

Making the Super Bowl as a sophomore and suffering a heartbreaking loss to the Chiefs, Warner became a nationally-known rising star. He made the first of his four pro bowls and was voted to the first of his four first-team all-pro teams in 2020, a down year for the team, then helped the squad to back-to-back NFC championship games.

2023 saw a second heartbreak with an overtime loss in the Super Bowl. He gutted out 2024 on an injured leg even as the season spiraled out of control. A broken ankle six games into 2025 caused him to miss his first significant run of games in his NFL career, and he ended up watching the 49ers gut out a twelve win season and divisional round loss.

Many consider him the top linebacker in the sport right now. The difference in quality of play from the 49ers defense with him on the field versus on it is always noticeable. I may not like him, but there is a degree of respect you have for a player that good. And clearly, Warner doesn’t like the Seahawks, but he’s also got some respect for them.

During an interview on the Up & Adams Show, Kay Adams said that she’s trying to find a weakness to exploit on the Seahawks. Warner’s response? “Me too.” And then he struggled before ultimately failing to come up with one.

“Fred, they really got it like that this year?” Kay asked next.

“I hate to say it, I hate to say it, because man, obviously I don’t like Seattle,” Fred continued, acknowledging his dislike of division rivals for obvious reasons. “But of course, you got to give respect where it’s due, and Seattle’s done it at the highest level all year long.” Warner played a majority of the week one game in Seattle that the 49ers won, but missed the last two losses.

Kay continued to try to get some sort of possible Seattle weakness out of Warner, but Fred continued to come up empty.

“It’s tough to say, it is, but…you know, here’s the thing though, when you’re talking about a Super Bowl. It’s not about who the best team is, it’s about who’s that best team for sixty minutes in the game. And anything can happen, right? I think that for the Patriots, man, they got to win at all the crucial moments of that game.” That was about as far as he was willing to go.

And he’s certainly correct. Yes, the Patriots had a very easy road to Super Bowl LX, but that doesn’t mean they’re disqualified from playing an excellent game on Sunday and finding a way to an upset victory. Nor is it possible for the Seahawks to play below their standard and leave the door open. Such is the nature of a single-elimination postseason game.

But for Warner to suggest that the Seahawks are a team without weakness is yet another accolade this team can put in their back pocket, joining many others, as they head to that final game.

Not a fun thing for Warner to say, but he did say it. — San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner (54) before the start of the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

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