49ers Week 3 stock watch after Thursday night loss to Rams
By Peter Panacy
Linebacker NaVorro Bowman
It’s hard to say it, but NaVorro Bowman is no longer the 49ers’ best linebacker. That accolade belongs to rookie Reuben Foster (ankle), and the Niners sorely missed him in Week 3.
In fairness, Bowman is coming off a season-ending Achilles tear a year ago — the second debilitating injury he’s suffered since 2014. But there’s something that just isn’t right with Bowman’s efforts right now. He’s not the same.
Bowman is typically the defense’s leading tackler on a week-to-week basis. He finished Thursday night with four tackles but could have had more.
Looking back at the tape, Bowman missed three tackles. And this one, a 1st-and-10 handoff to Rams running back Todd Gurley, certainly won’t make it to Bowman’s highlight reel:
“I think it had a huge effect on my body,” Bowman later said of the quick turnaround from last Sunday to Thursday night, via Eric Branch of SFGate.com. “There’s no way I felt the way I felt on Sunday today.”
Perhaps this is true. But it’s important to remember Bowman is 29 years old, not 25 or 26. And that’s how fast the NFL can chew up an elite player.
For now, his stock takes a dip.