The San Francisco 49ers could have used former perennial All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis during the latter years of the 2010s. And for a while, it almost seemed like it was going to happen.
Remember that November 2015 rumor from Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole speculating Willis was thinking about ending his shocking retirement? For a few hours, at least until Willis later debunked the rumor, it gave Niners fans a glowing shimmer of hope amid a time when the franchise wasn’t exactly going through good things.
There have been other retirements and unretirements in recent franchise history, too.