Three 49ers named to Pro Bowl, including one for first time
The 49ers’ disappointing season in which they failed to make the playoffs was not without standout performances.
The NFL announced on Monday the 49ers had three players make the Pro Bowl, including one for the first time time. The honors this year are ceremonial only as the actual Pro Bowl game has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Linebacker Fred Warner received his first Pro Bowl honors in his three seasons for anchoring the league’s fifth-ranked defense despite missing key players to injuries throughout. San Francisco lost star defensive end Nick Bosa to an ACL tear in the first quarter of Week 2, All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman after Week 1 with a calf injury and pass rusher Dee Ford Week 1 with a back injury. And the team traded star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner in the spring.
It all led to Warner becoming one of San Francisco’s most indispensable players in the heart of the defense. The former third-round pick from BYU has never missed a game since turning pro and was regarded highly enough by defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to be in charge of relaying the plays in the huddle and getting his teammates lined up in his first game as a rookie in 2018.
Since then, Warner has developed into arguably the NFL’s best linebacker in coverage who has grown into a physical force defending the run.
“I will be biased and say that he is by far, by far the best middle linebacker in football,” Saleh said this month. “It’s not even close in my opinion. With what he does and what we ask him to do and his energy, his positive energy, his leadership, his off the field stuff, you can’t make them like that, not very often anyway.”
Warner through 14 games this season has 101 tackles, two interceptions, four tackles for loss and five quarterback hits. He’s Pro Football Focus’ third-highest graded linebacker in pass coverage.
The other two 49ers to get Pro Bowl recognition are regulars.
Left tackle Trent Williams was named a Pro Bowler for the eighth time in the eight NFL seasons he’s played. The only year in which he failed to make the Pro Bowl was 2019, when he held out over a dispute with Washington’s training staff and front office.
San Francisco traded for Williams on the third day of the NFL draft last spring after veteran Joe Staley, a six-time Pro Bowler, announced his retirement. The 49ers sent third- and fifth-round draft choices to Washington to acquire Williams to avoid a drop off after Staley’s departure.
Williams is tied for seventh among all NFL tackles in Pro Football Focus’ pass protection productivity metric. He’s allowed 18 pressures and four sacks in 18 games this season, including 11 games with two or fewer allowed. Williams hasn’t allowed a sack since Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins.
The 49ers’ third Pro Bowler is fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who earned the honors for the fifth consecutive year, including all four of his seasons with San Francisco since signing his landmark contract in 2017. The four-year, $21 million deal for the former Baltimore Ravens player was the largest for a fullback in league history.
But Juszczyk has been worth it for San Francisco. His versatility makes him a strong fit for coach Kyle Shanahan’s complicated offense. Juszczyk is regarded as one of the most athletic blocking fullbacks in football who adds value with his work in the passing game. Juszczyk in 2020 tied his career high with four touchdowns (two receiving, two rushing) while being the rare 49ers’ skill position player to appear in every game this season.
All three of the 49ers Pro Bowlers this season are due for new contracts. Warner is eligible for a contract extension for the first time this offseason and is expected to be at the top of the market for inside linebackers, likely in the $15 to $17 million range per season. The same is true for Williams, who could command one of the largest tackle contracts in league history upwards of $20 million per season.
Juszczyk is also a free agent who has said he’s had preliminary conversations with Shanahan about coming back. But whether or not the 49ers can afford to pay all three players remains to be seen. They’re expected to have roughly $30 million in cap space, meaning it might take cutting players like Ford and center Weston Richburg to bring their three Pro Bowlers back for 2021 and beyond.
The team had four players selected last season: Bosa, tight end George Kittle, Sherman and Juszczyk.
This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 4:17 PM.
