The San Francisco 49ers roster was hit hard by injuries last season, but few losses proved more significant than that of linebacker Fred Warner. The defensive star suffered a dislocated and fractured right ankle in Week 6, abruptly ending what had been a promising 2026 campaign.

Now fully recovered, Warner is expected to have no limitations as the 49ers begin organized team activities (OTAs) on Wednesday.


Warner came close to returning during the postseason. In fact, the linebacker believes he would have been ready to play had San Francisco advanced to the NFC Championship Game. By that point, he had already resumed practicing with the team.

Unfortunately for the 49ers, their playoff run ended one game earlier with a Divisional Round loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

"I'm feeling great, and no restrictions, just being able to jump right in," Warner said in April. "That honestly was the feeling after the season ended, the fact that I was able to return to practice kind of gave me all the confidence in the world to really attack training during the offseason."

Warner participated in just one practice session after suffering the injury. That workout came before the playoff matchup against Seattle, even though he already knew he would not suit up for the game.

Still, the session served as an important step in getting re-acclimated ahead of the potential early return that wasn't meant to be.


"My endurance was great," Warner recently told Matt Barrows of The Athletic. "That was the least of my worries. That was something I wondered about — kind of being thrown into the fire of a Wednesday practice format. And I just got thrown into all the individual drills with no restriction. I felt great. I thought it was a best-case scenario of how it went that day."

One key element of Warner's aggressive rehab process was swimming, which became a major part of his recovery plan as he worked to reduce swelling and regain mobility.

"I was constantly dealing with swelling," Warner said. "So when I would put it in the water and just kick, it was a natural flushing of the ankle. Every time I got out of the water, my ankle looked so much better than it did going in."

Warner worked with Sage Hopkins, the 53-year-old women's swim and dive coach at San Jose State. According to Hopkins, Warner was far from an experienced swimmer when the two first started working together.

"He was at Level 1 — not drowning, but if he fell off of a boat far from shore, he likely wouldn't have made it back," Hopkins told Barrows.


Much like he approaches football, Warner attacked swimming with determination and discipline, quickly becoming one of Hopkins' standout pupils.

"One of the definitions of talent that I like best is how quickly you can learn something," Hopkins said. "And with Fred, I could give him one cue, tell him one thing, and it was immediately understood and retained."

Warner progressed so rapidly that Hopkins believes the linebacker could now hold his own against some collegiate swimmers in short sprints, an impressive feat for someone who had little experience in the water before beginning rehab.

While OTAs begin this week, the real work for Warner and the 49ers' veterans will come at the end of July when training camp opens. Based on his recovery progress, the star linebacker appears poised to be fully ready for the challenge.

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