49ers return all eight captains; Williams reaches 14 selections

George Kittle begins his ninth season in the role

Wire Report IntelligenceUpdated Sep 71 min read

What happened: Nick Bosa, Kyle Juszczyk, George Kittle, Deommodore Lenoir, Christian McCaffrey, Brock Purdy, Fred Warner and Trent Williams make up the 2026 leadership group. Teammates selected the group, which Kyle Shanahan confirmed before the regular-season opener.

Why it matters: The NFL does not keep official captaincy records, but Trent Williams is believed to be the only player with at least seven captain seasons for two teams. Kittle, Warner and Williams qualify for the gold captain's patch recognizing five or more years in the role.

By the numbers: Williams' 14 captain seasons split evenly between San Francisco and Washington. Kittle has nine, Warner seven, Purdy and Bosa four apiece, Juszczyk and McCaffrey three each with the 49ers, and Lenoir two; McCaffrey also served four seasons as a Carolina Panthers captain.

What to watch: The leadership group gets its first assignment in San Francisco's 2026 opener at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Sources

Yahoo NFL 2026-09-07T12:19:25.581509+00:00

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