Injuries are part of life in the NFL. So while it feels like the San Francisco 49ers have been walloped by an incredibly high wave of them, the name of the game is perseverance. The part that feels like a sick joke is that nearly every bump and bruise has come to a key piece of the team.
Whether it has been Brandon Aiyuk's ongoing recovery from the ACL tear he suffered last season, Jauan Jennings' comically long list of ailments, missing George Kittle for most of the season, losing Nick Bosa for the year, or the time missed by Brock Purdy and Ricky Pearsall, it feels as if nearly every foundational piece for San Francisco has been unavailable for large swaths of the year.
As impactful as all those losses have been, they pale in comparison to losing All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner.
That may seem silly to say. After all, linebacker isn't the glamor position it once was when the likes of Ray Lewis, Brian Urlacher, or Patrick WIllis were prowling the middle of the field. However, under defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, the position is critical to making the defensive apparatus go.
Fred Warner's injury leaves some big shoes for 49ers rookie Nick Martin to fill
Robert Saleh favors smaller, speedier linebackers who excel in pass coverage. In his scheme, having athletic linebackers who are good in coverage is essential for making the pass defense work. However, that preference makes the run game something of a challenge.
Saleh's system has the defensive line going full throttle at all times, run or pass. There is no two-gapping nose tackle keeping the backers clean. Instead, all four rushers pin their ears back and shoot their gaps, trying to make plays in the backfield. That leaves the linebackers exposed and at a disadvantage as the much smaller players must fill gaps while still being able to roam to the outside on a cutback without getting picked off in the process.
That's where Warner truly excelled. He was built to play Saleh's style of defense, and despite being smaller than a traditional middle linebacker, he was consistently able to weave through traffic and make plays in the run game while clamping down against the pass.
More than anyone, he was the engine that made the machine run, and now his status for the season (and beyond) is very much up in the air.
That opens up an opportunity for rookie third-round pick Nick Martin.
Selected 75th overall, San Francisco clearly thought highly of the Oklahoma State product, whose measurements and physical traits come together like a dream for Saleh.
However, after a rough preseason where he far too often went for the kill instead of playing fundamentally sound football, Martin found himself inactive in every contest thus far in 2025. If it is indeed him who gets the call, it could be a golden opportunity for the rookie. It could also be nightmare fuel for Niners fans.
Something to keep in mind, however, is that Saleh excels at developing linebacker talent. He was the one who nurtured Warner from an intriguing third-round pick out of BYU into the best linebacker in the game today. He also turned Quincy Williams from a physically gifted but undisciplined battering ram into an All-Pro linebacker during his tenure as head coach of the New York Jets.
If anyone can get Martin where he needs to be, it's Saleh.
The ball is now in Martin's court, as Niners fans anxiously await his regular-season debut.