The Write Zone

People are looking at the Rams, the Eagles, the Patriots, the Bills, and the Broncos as Superbowl contenders. You know who they are glancing over? The Forty Niners. Nearly every time I ask someone who they think is going to be in the Superbowl, that answer always involves two of the previously listed teams. Rams and Broncos, Eagles and Patriots, etc. But do I ever hear, “Oh, the Forty Niners are going to win the Superbowl”? Nope. But there might be a secret weapon coming back that no team saw coming. And that weapon’s name is Fred Warner.

I personally leapt around my room when I read the latest Warner article. The Forty Niners’ GM John Lynch gave this crazy San Francisco season a new twist with the latest Fred Warner injury update.

“Well, medically, no,” Lynch said on “49ers Game Plan.” “I mean, the docs say it’s probably on the wrong side of the range that they would suggest. But even the docs with Fred say, ‘You know what, let him rehab as if he’s coming back for something and we’ll see where he’s at.”

If I’ve learned anything about Fred Warner its that he pushes the limits, and the window of time he was given after Oct. 13 when he had his surgery was 10-16 weeks, with 16 being more likely. Dec. 22 would be 10 weeks, and Feb. 2 would be 16, the week after the NFC Championship round.

Now, John Lynch added in the same interview, “I think it’s outside the realm, and I promise you, it’s our duty, with a player like Fred, not to ever put himself in harm’s way in terms of not being ready,” Lynch added during the interview. “And so we’ll follow the orders of the doctors. They’ll control this, but Fred is going to push the limits, and he is doing everything possible. He lives in a hyperbaric chamber [for] two, three hours a day. He’s here all the time. He’s unbelievable, this guy. It’s what made him who he is.”

The Athletic’s Matt Barrows believes a return is possible if the 49ers advance far enough into the postseason. He gives Warner a 16% chance to put back on his number 54 for the Wild Card round and a 44% for the Divisional round. But there’s a 78 percent chance for the NFC Championship Game- and then its basically “just-try-and-stop-him percent” for the Super Bowl.

Keep in mind, the first Wild Card round is 13 weeks into his rehab, so there’s a chance there too. But I know a lot of people are thinking, “Well, the Niners won’t make it that far anyway”. I have four words for you- Week 5 vs. Rams. If that’s what it ends up being, Rams and Niners in the Championship, San Francisco could have Warner back and the Niners could re-write the script of the 2025 NFL season.

See you at the next snap,

Tatum.