The San Francisco 49ers have dealt with injuries to the defense throughout the 2025 NFL season. San Francisco have played most of this campaign without Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, but heading into the final three games, there’s good news on the horizon.
While it’s been bad news regarding the injuries week in and week out, players have started to return in the second half of the campaign. As a result, this final stretch bodes well for the team as they look to cap off an impressive regular season heading into the playoffs.
On December 20, The SF Standard’s David Lombardi reported the Niners are on track to have five defensive starters return for the “Monday Night Football” game against the Indianapolis Colts.
49ers Get Bad News on Defense
Nonetheless, there was good news and bad news: The 49ers announced on December 20 that linebacker Nick Martin has been placed on injured reserve due to a concussion suffered on November 30 against the Cleveland Browns.
The 49ers picked Martin in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft from Oklahoma State. This season, he appeared in seven games, recording 11 tackles and forcing one fumble. Head coach Kyle Shanahan noted that Martin was still dealing with symptoms as recently as earlier this week.
“Yes, that’s why he is in the protocol,” Shanahan said on December 18 (h/t 49ers Web Zone ).
San Francisco faces a tough situation: With NFL rules requiring a player on IR to miss at least four games, Martin won’t be available for the final three weeks of the regular season. His return would only be possible if the 49ers advance into January.
“If you have a headache or standing up and you get dizz, I’m not getting in particulars with him, but lighe could hurt you randomly one time, and once that happens and then it’s a step back,” Shanahan told The Athletic on December 20 .
49ers Defense is Bending But Not Breaking
Despite all the injuries on defense, the 49ers are heading into Week 16 at 10-4. Moreover, San Francisco’s record feels almost miraculous. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has extracted remarkable performances from a squad missing its two top players.
While that could have limited their playoff hopes, the 49ers have consistently shown they can match up with any opponent. Furthermore, the Niners are content with their defense bending but not breaking, considering the number of injuries to the unit.
“I gave up on yardage a long time ago,” Saleh admitted when speaking with reporters on December 19 (h/t David Lombardi of The SF Standard ). “It’s about winning football games, keeping points down, doing whatever you can from a schematic standpoint, a play-calling standpoint, to make sure that the other team is not in the end zone. If that means you give up yards, then so be it.”
The 49ers’ bend-but-don’t-break mentality not only have them in the playoffs but in the hunt to win the NFC West division. Although it’s a challenging final three games against the Colts, Chicago Bears , and Seattle Seahawks , if the Niners can win out, they could win the division.
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