San Francisco 49ers: 15 most beloved fan favorites in franchise history

Most beloved San Francisco 49ers in franchise history: 6. Patrick Willis

Let’s rewind back to 2015. There’s some stunning news coming out of 49ers camp, and it’s not looking good.

Perennial All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis is retiring.

To quantify just how hard it was to watch Willis call it a career, following his five-time First-Team All-Pro resume, just go back and watch his retirement presser once more:

Hurts, doesn’t it?

In fairness to Willis, injuries began to take their toll late in his career leading up to 2015. He had been surpassed by NaVorro Bowman as the team’s best linebacker, yet the ability to continue to fight on was simply too much for one of San Francisco’s all-time greats.

Just think about it. For years, 49ers fans everywhere were clinging to the hope Willis would come out of retirement, certainly sparked by one 2016 rumor he’d be doing so.

But Willis shot those rumors down quickly, probably forcing more than a handful of the 49ers Faithful to shed a tear about the superstar not stepping on the field ever again in that role.