Three San Francisco 49ers players earned Pro Bowl selections this season. They are linebacker Fred Warner, fullback Kyle Juszczyk, and left tackle Trent Williams. For Juszczyk, it is his fifth selection. For Williams, it is his eighth.
For Warner, the Pro Bowl nod is huge because it is his first. Many of his teammates and fans felt he was deserving last season.
"It's a huge honor," Warner told reporters before Tuesday's practice. "That's one of those things where you come into the league and have individual goals that you set for yourself. And so to be able to check one of those off is huge, and I think any individual accolades in this league is always a team award.
"Football, I feel like, is the truest team sport in the entire world, and so I can't do what I do without my teammates, and I know Trent and Kyle will say the exact same. I've just got a great group around me, and I'm very grateful, very blessed."
Warner shared that he received a call of congratulations from Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner after both were named Pro Bowl selections.
"We text back and forth about different things throughout the season," Warner added, "and he was one of the first to call me and congratulate me — me and him being picked as the inside backers for the NFC, so that was special."
Juszczyk is a regular when it comes to Pro Bowl selections. All five of his have come over the last five seasons. He is very excited about this year's selections, though, but not for himself.
"Honestly, I think I'm more happy for Fred getting his first one than me getting my fifth, to be totally real with you," Juszczyk said. "Just because I know how important that first one is, and I remember how excited I was when I first got my first nod. That one definitely means the most. It's the hardest one to get. You really kind of have to break through, and I've told him he's got the hardest one out of the way, and now they're going to start coming easier for him because people know his name, and rightfully so.
"The guy's an absolute baller. He's been playing out of his mind, not just this year, but the past couple of years. But I'm just really happy to see him get that recognition because he deserves every bit of it."
Williams didn't play last season and was traded from Washington to the 49ers in April. What does the veteran think about having yet another Pro Bowl selection to add to his resume?
"It never gets old," said Williams. "Every year is just as special as the last. But this year, I think, is far more special to me just because of what I had to overcome with this last season, the last year-and-a-half. I think it was a mountain climb for me and I feel like being able to be recognized by my peers as one of the best in the game gives me that confidence to think that my game is back where it's supposed to be."
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