San Francisco 49ers: Expectations for NaVorro Bowman?

Inside linebacker has become a big concern heading into 2015 for the San Francisco 49ers.

The sudden exits of Patrick Willis and Chris Borland were unexpected, and now the team is left with a couple of players with little experience and NaVorro Bowman, who is coming back from a major injury.

How high should the expectations be on Bowman?

Both Willis and Borland had shocking retirements earlier this year. Willis suffered an injury halfway into the 2014 season and then Borland stole the spotlight in the position and had a breakout rookie campaign. When the former linebacker announced his retirement due to religious enlightenment and injuries, the latter also cited worry of future problems by playing football at this level.

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While they are not forced to retire due to injuries, they are taking preventive measures and no one can blame them for looking out for their own health and safety. Now the 49ers are left scrambling to find depth at inside linebacker and holding out hope for Bowman’s recovery after a major injury prevented him from playing in the 2014 season.

Jan 15, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula speaks to the media during the introduction as the 49ers head coach at Levi

Bowman tore the ACL in his left knee when the 49ers played the Seattle Seahawks in the 2013 NFC Championship Game. He had surgery on the ACL tear while the MCL healed itself. The recovery process has been around 14 months now, but head coach Jim Tomsula is hearing nothing but great things according to Taylor Price of 49ers.com.

"“I’m not a doctor, I’m not going to tell you I know exactly where he’s at and all that,” Tomsula said via CSNBayArea.com. “I know his rehab is going real well, and all the information I have is extremely positive from doctors, trainers and Bow.”"

The linebacker’s injury came at a terrible time. Bowman was a NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate in 2013. He had career highs of 120 solo tackles (145 total), five sacks, four forced fumbles, and two interceptions and tying a previous mark of eight pass deflections. A lot of that came in December as he aided the 49ers in getting into the postseason.

Bowman will still have sky-high expectations even after coming off the ACL injury. After 46 total tackles in his rookie career, he has recorded 143 or more total tackles in each of his last three years. He has been an absolute beast and will be needed to start in one of the two slots in the 3-4 defense.

However, expectations should be tampered a little bit. Recovery from an ACL injury does not mean a player can never reach their full potential again. Remember, Adrian Peterson came back and nearly set the league’s single-season rushing record in 2012. But there is also cases like the 49ers’ own Marcus Lattimore, who was forced to retire last season after never being fully able to recover from multiple injuries. He never played a down with San Francisco.

For those that have not experienced it, coming back from an ACL tear is extremely hard. How Peterson did it as fast as he did and the production he had afterwards is more of an indication on how much of a freak athlete he is. Bowman has all the potential to come back as strong as ever, but don’t expect December 2013 right out of the gate.

Dec 29, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebacker Michael Wilhoite (57) against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Another issue the 49ers have to deal with is who is going to start next to him. Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reported that Trent Baalke believes that Michael Wilhoite is the leading candidate after an impressive season last year and put his trust in them.

"Even when the 49ers believed Willis and Borland would be on the team, Wilhoite was never on the trade block, Baalke confirmed. He said several teams contacted the 49ers to gauge their interest in trading Wilhoite, and those talks never advanced to the point in which compensation was discussed."

That may be true, but the team will still need some depth and it needs to be somebody with experience and that can compete for a starting spot immediately. Putting all stock in starters that are either recovering from a major injury and have started just 18 games is a bad idea.

Next: Can Colin Kaepernick return to superstar form in 2015?

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