TAMPA, Fla. – Something was amiss – and alarming — from the start of Fred Warner’s final play this 49ers season.
No one lined up at right defensive end.
Buccaneers left tackle Tristan Wirfs, with no one to block, unimpededly charged ahead 5 yards into Warner, who tried shedding the All-Pro and spun toward ballcarrier Rachaad White.
Warner’s right ankle got trapped under safety Ji’Ayir Brown as the latter tackled White for a 10-yard gain. Warner’s foot emerged at a nauseating 90-degree angle. Wirfs immediately signaled to the 49ers’ sideline for medical attention.
On that 49ers sideline were defensive ends Mykel Williams and Sam Okuayinonu, who’ve rotated in opposite Bryce Huff in the wake of Nick Bosa’s season-ending knee injury in Week 3.
“Sometimes I’m not up and some drives I am,”