The NFL released the preliminary players on the 2026 Pro Bowl roster for the AFC and NFC, and the San Francisco 49ers are well-represented with six players, tied for the most in the league.
However, a couple of the usual suspects were missing from the list given injuries, particularly perennial All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner.
The injury story is no stranger to the Niners this year, but the Pro Bowl roster not only re-emphasizes that. It adds insult to it, too, with former 49ers linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair's first-ever selection.
Al-Shaair spent his first four seasons with the San Francisco, developing into a capable starter along with Warner and now-Denver Broncos backer Dre Greenlaw. But after the 2022 season, the 49ers let Al-Shaair go, first to the Tennessee Titans and then the Houston Texans, where he has played for former 49ers DC Demeco Ryans the last two years..
Those last two years have been difficult ones for the Niners at the linebacking position, first with the aftermath of Greenlaw's Achilles tear in the Super Bowl, resulting in the De'Vondre Campbell saga, and this year with Warner's absence due to his serious ankle injury. The Niners could have easily utilized a player like Al-Shaair for the last two seasons in keeping their defense afloat. But because of a series of large contracts they handed out, Al-Shaair's $11 million salary average per year was a little too rich back in 2023.
It is a bittersweet story for San Francisco as Al-Shaair's Pro Bowl nod continues to be proof of the team's excellence in drafting and developing linebackers. But another team is benefiting from that play while the 49ers struggle along this year with a patchwork linebacking corps.
Now, as the Niners approach the playoffs still trying to sort out, despite Tatum Bethune's excellent play off the bench, who exactly will be taking snaps at linebacker, they can look over to Houston and wonder what could have been with their former player.