
Editor's note: The video above is of 49ers' All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis announcing his retirement from the National Football League
NaVorro Bowman isn't used to losing, as the three-time first-team All-Pro linebacker went 36-11-1 over his first three seasons as a starter for the 49ers.
Things have been on a decline since the NFC title loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the 2013 season, a game where Bowman tore three ligaments in his knee.
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The staff, scheme and personnel have undergone drastic changes. And Bowman, and year removed from watching his team go 8-8 from the sideline in 2014 while rehabbing a gruesome injury, has only been a part of four regular-season wins in 2015.
Adding on, his friend and teammate Patrick Willis also departed in that time, announcing his retirement on March 10, 2015.
[MAIOCCO: 49ers have scarcity of lead-by-example players]
And while Willis is no longer part of the action of Sundays, he's not too far from Bowman.
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Bowman this week revealed that Willis had been in touch and wanted to provide him with a message through this time of adversity.
Willis' words, according to Bowman, per the team's official site: “I know where you’re at. You know what it takes to get out of this slump, so just lead these guys and keep working.”
The 49ers are 4-9 coming off arguably the worst loss of the season on the road against Johnny Manziel and the Cleveland Browns, with the Bengals, Lions and Rams to finish out the year.
San Francisco is currently in last place in the NFC West and officially out of playoff contention.
Bowman, 27, is third in the NFL in tackles with 124, and finished third in Pro Bowl voting.