49ers place linebacker Fred Warner on COVID-19 list

The San Francisco 49ers have placed star linebacker Fred Warner on the COVID-19 list.

The San Francisco 49ers have already dealt with their fair share of injury trouble this summer. And on Monday, the team announced that linebacker Fred Warner had been placed on the COVID-19 list adding another player to the growing list of sidelined individuals.

Now, it should be noted that this does not necessarily mean that Warner has tested positive. The list is designed either for players who have officially tested positive or for those who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive.

The team is not at liberty to disclose whether or not Warner has contracted the virus so it’s really all speculation. Either way, this certainly isn’t an ideal scenario with under two weeks to go until Week 1.

The length that Warner will be out is really hard to say and it largely depends on whether or not he has tested positive. If Warner himself has not tested positive, he is forced to isolate until the results of a test reveal that he is negative.

If not and he is the one who has tested positive, then he will be required to wait a certain number of days before possibly being medically cleared.

If Warner is asymptomatic, then it’s possible he could return within five days so long as he tests negative for the virus twice within a 24-hour span and is cleared to return by the team doctor.

However, if Warner has tested positive and is symptomatic, then he’ll be forced to wait at least 10 days after his symptoms first appeared before he can be cleared by a doctor.

It’s unclear if Fred Warner will be ready to play in the 49ers’ Week 1 game.

And seeing as though the 49ers’ season-opener is 13 days away at the time of writing, that puts his status for Week 1 very much in doubt.

Warner was present for the 49ers’ practice on Friday, but was not there when the team took the field on Sunday (there was an off-day on Saturday).

If he’s is forced to miss time, projected weakside linebacker Kwon Alexander will slide over to Warner’s typical middle linebacker role. Dre Greenlaw would likely take over in the base nickel defense, although the second-year linebacker is currently the concussion protocol.

That means that we’ll likely see more of Azeez Al-Shaair who has seen some reps at middle linebacker in place of Warner this summer.

Here’s to hoping that Warner can recover/get cleared as quickly as possible and that he’ll be ready to go for Week 1.