Joe Staley, 5 others who deserved a Super Bowl ring with 49ers
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: Linebacker NaVorro Bowman after sacrificing his knee
While Patrick Willis certainly deserved a Super Bowl crown, fellow linebacker NaVorro Bowman also has to be mentioned on this list of deserving former players to don the red and gold.
Especially after San Francisco was on the cusp of yet another NFL championship game against the Seattle Seahawks in early 2014.
Fans remember that game for two key reasons: the tip drill from then-Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman at the end of the game, as well as Bowman’s gruesome knee injury on the goal line earlier in the contest.
That injury ruined Bowman’s 2014 campaign, and some could argue it forever hindered his career.
Had the 49ers beaten Seattle in that epic showdown, they would have had an easy time over the Denver Broncos and likely would have secured a sixth Lombardi Trophy. Instead, it was the Seahawks who shredded Denver in the Super Bowl, not San Francisco.
A Niners Super Bowl win would have made Bowman’s horrible injury a bit more bearable to be sure.