The San Francisco 49ers did enough in 2025 to make it to the playoffs and upset the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round, but their season came to an end the next week, as they fell to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.

San Francisco is now in the offseason and is preparing for the 2026 season coming up. However, before free agency opens, this is a great time to look back at the year and discuss the performance of different position groups.

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As we work our way through the 49ers‘ defense, let’s take a look at their linebackers and hand out some grades for a year-end report card.

Dee Winters: B

Winters entered his third season with the 49ers as one of the team’s starting linebackers, and he went on to start all 17 games for San Francisco and lead his position group in snaps. He finished the year with a career-high 101 tackles, five passes defensed, three quarterback hits and one interception, which he returned for his first NFL touchdown.

Tatum Bethune: C+

The 2024 seventh-round pick saw a significant jump in opportunities in his second season, as he went from 51 defensive snaps as a rookie to 499 in 2025. On the year, he recorded 94 tackles, four passes defensed and a sack while wearing the green dot for a significant chunk of the year.

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Fred Warner: A-

San Francisco gave Warner a massive three-year, $63 million extension in the offseason to make him the highest-paid linebacker in the NFL. He proved that he deserved that contract early in the season, as he recorded 51 tackles, three passes defensed, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in the first six games, even earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors once. However, he suffered a dislocated and fractured ankle in Week 6 that cost him the remainder of the year.

Curtis Robinson: C-

Robinson suffered a torn ACL early in 2024 and missed the rest of the season before returning to action this year on a new one-year deal. He had the best year of his career in 2025, appearing in 14 games and starting three due to injuries to guys ahead of him on the depth chart. He finished with 42 tackles and one pass defensed while earning the team nomination for Walter Payton Man of the Year for the second season in a row.

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Luke Gifford: C

Gifford inked a one-year deal with the 49ers in 2025 after spending four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and two Tennessee Titans. He finished the year with 25 tackles, and he made the Pro Bowl for the first time as a special teams contributor. You can’t ask for much more from him.

Eric Kendricks: INC

Kendricks signed with the 49ers practice squad in November and was eventually promoted to the active roster. He appeared in three regular season games and played 100% of the team’s defensive snaps in their two playoff games. They needed him to step up late in the year, and he did just that.

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Garret Wallow: INC

San Francisco claimed Wallow off waivers after the Denver Broncos released him in December. He went on to appearing four regular season games with the 49ers. He also played over 60% of the team’s defensive snaps in both of their playoff games, recording 12 tackles and a pass defensed in the postseason.

Nick Martin: INC

Martin was San Francisco’s third-round pick (No. 75 overall) in the 2025 NFL draft out of Oklahoma State. He was a healthy scratch for the first six weeks of the year. He then went on to play in seven games, mostly on special teams, recording 11 tackles. His season was ended prematurely due to a concussion that he suffered in Week 13.

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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers report card: Grading San Francisco’s LB room from 2025