Warner jokes he’s ‘aging like fine wine’ heading into 49ers’ seventh season originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
The NFL can take a toll on even the best athletes, but 49ers linebacker Fred Warner is feeling as fresh as ever ahead of his seventh season in the league.
The All-Pro does not participate in field work during the team’s organized San Francisco mandatory minicamp activities, but Warner still feels it’s important to be on site in Santa Clara with his fellow 49ers and the training staff.
“This is my home, first and foremost,” Warner explained to reporters on Wednesday when asked why he was at the 49ers’ facility. “I’ve made my home here, I have a house here, I train here all year round in this building, on that field with the strength and conditioning staff. I feel like they’re the best at what they do, you know. I got myself right and ready to go every year.
“So, I’m like, I don’t know any different, so it would be kind of silly of me to intentionally go somewhere else when OTAs start. I’m here. I want to be part of the team as we start in Phases 2 and 3, and that’s exactly what that I always knew.”
Warner’s off-season work has paid off over the years, with the three-time Pro Bowl selection coming off a 2023 NFL season where he led the 49ers with 132 tackles (82 solo) and forced fumbles (four), while recording the second-most interceptions (four) on the team, behind cornerback Charvarius Ward (five).
“Just aging like a fine wine, really,” Warner said. “I pride myself on taking care of my body, right. I think a big part of that is always being curious, always looking for new ways to recover and improve. to recover, how to take care of your body, right?
“So that’s been helpful and I think it’s the best I’ve ever felt.”
Warner welcomed his first child this offseason and said he wants play even more in 2024 for your son. That, combined with the 27-year-old’s confidence in his maturity, could be a frightening sight for opposing attacks next season.
