A year ago, the most dangerous position in all of sports was being a San Francisco 49ers running back.
Throughout 2025 (and early into 2026), it seems as if playing linebacker for the Niners is a job no one who values his safety would want.
The Monday after San Francisco's crushing Week 18 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, which ended its bid for the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff picture, head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters linebacker Tatum Bethune suffered a groin injury that would ultimately end his season, effectively ensuring he'd miss whatever run the 49ers have in the postseason now.
#49ers LB Tatum Bethune (groin) is OUT for the rest of the season, per Kyle Shanahan.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) January 5, 2026
Bethune, a seventh-round pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, already had been in and out of the lineup over the course of the season because of various injuries. Ultimately, his 2025 efforts conclude with 14 games played, a sack, a quarterback hit and 94 tackles, four of which were for a loss.
While Bethune is a far cry from also-injured linebacker Fred Warner, the second-year pro's abilities to defend against the run were already sorely missed when he was out of the lineup earlier this season.
49ers are running out of healthy bodies at linebacker
Bethune's exit from Week 18 is only the latest stamp on what's been a frustrating attempt to keep the Niners' linebacker room healthy.
While there's buzz Warner could return in the divisional round after suffering a horrendous ankle injury way back in Week 6, his recovery is overshadowed by the additional injuries suffered by fellow backers like Dee Winters, Luke Gifford and rookie Nick Martin.
As such, San Francisco has been forced to grab players off the proverbial scrap heap, including Garret Wallow and the aging veteran, Eric Kendricks.
Considering how poor the 49ers run defense was against the Hawks in Week 18, and in light of the latest linebacker setback, it wouldn't be a shock whatsoever if the Philadelphia Eagles aimed to take full advantage when they square off against the Niners in the Wild Card round.
And it could easily be San Francisco's postseason downfall.