Niners Nation
49ers’ Warner back at practice. ‘Fred is different from anybody else’ (paywall)
“He appeared to run and jump with an intensity his peers have grown accustomed to mimicking. His presence alone injected energy and fresh stakes for a team beginning to realize it may be one win away from seeing the perennial All-Pro linebacker, who also happens to be the longest active 49ers team captain, call tails at the pregame coin toss.
“I just think the fact that Fred even has a jersey on, less than 100 days after what happened to him,” Trent Williams said, “that just uplifts the team.”
Warner did not take a back seat to anyone in his first practice back, resuming his role as line leader. He took every first rep with his position group. The order of operations served as a reminder, particularly for a run-down 49ers roster in the middle of another short week, how it’s done.
“Guys are like, man, 54 is right there around the corner,” Purdy said. “Obviously, we do our job, handle our business, then we can get him back. … Guys feed off that. He’s the captain here, man. He’s the guy that we all follow.”
As fellow linebackers ran over to join Warner ahead of individual drills, he flipped his dreadlocks back, strapped up his helmet and dapped up the guys. All signs that it was time to go to work. Warner ran ahead of his teammates to demonstrate.
He dug in his cleats, some few steps right of a sled. He shuffled to the left at many paces, preparing to launch. He punched through the bag, which clanked its usual clank. He sprinted to pursue the ball carrier, who in this case was a defenseless 49ers staffer. He leaped past, so as not to injure anyone on his first day back.
Warner then ran by the horde of cameras following his every move, and hollered: “God damn, we look good!”
49ers star Fred Warner instantly brings ‘pure energy’ in return to practice
“It is not likely that Warner will be cleared to play against the Seahawks, coach Kyle Shanahan said. But the 49ers hope Warner could be available if the team advances to the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 24.”
49ers’ Ricky Pearsall expects to play Saturday while being more mindful of balky knee
“On that individual play, getting out of bounds is the wiser move,” said Pearsall, who was limited in Wednesday’s practice. “I landed straight on my knee and I just can’t take tackles like that right now. Because I’m just going to have setbacks if I continue to land on the knee. … Being able to adjust a little bit within my game is something I’m kind of learning as I go about it.
“And what I learned after that tackle, actually, on the plays going forward, the catches that I have, just be a little bit smarter. Get as many yards as you can, but don’t take big hits.”
Pearsall said he...
