Former Florida State star linebacker Tatum Bethune is nearing the end of his rookie season with the San Francisco 49ers. After making the roster as a seventh-round selection, Bethune sprained his MCL in November and has been sidelined for the past five games. However, he’s nearing a return to game action.

Earlier this week, the 49ers opened the 21-day practice window for Bethune to return from Injured Reserve. It’s possible that he could suit up as soon as Monday night against the Detroit Lions.

Bethune has appeared in nine games during the 2024 season, totaling two tackles and a fumble recovery. He’s primarily been a contributor on special teams and a reserve on defense. Fellow former Seminole Renardo Green is also in his first year with the 49ers.

READ MORE: Florida State Offers Productive Georgia Southern Linebacker Transfer

Prior to his professional career, Bethune spent two seasons at Florida State after also playing for UCF. During his time with the Seminoles, Bethune appeared in 26 games, making 21 starts, and recorded 154 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, three pass deflections and one interception. He was an honorable mention All-ACC selection in 2022 before being named third-team All-ACC in 2023. Bethune also won FSU’s Monk Bonasorte Award and Bobby Bowden Leadership Award.

Bethune’s lone interception at Florida State came in the fourth quarter of the ACC Championship victory against Louisville. At the time, the Cardinals were driving for a go-ahead score before Bethune ended their hopes with a pick in the end zone.

READ MORE: 6-foot-7 Offensive Tackle Xavier Payne Commits To Florida State

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The Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers met 11 months ago at Levi’s Stadium with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. San Francisco used a furious second half comeback to steal the NFC Championship game, leaving the Lions walking off the field in defeat.

On Monday, the Lions will return to Levi’s Stadium looking to avenge that defeat. While the 49ers are eliminated from playoff contention, Detroit is pursuing the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. If the Minnesota Vikings lose to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, a win over the 49ers would give the Lions home-field advantage and a first-round bye.

Grant Cohn is a San Francisco 49ers beat writer for 49ers OnSI. He recently answered five questions to preview Monday’s game between the Lions and 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.

1.) What have been the biggest factors contributing to the 49ers’ struggles this season? 

Grant Cohn: The 49ers will say that injuries ruined their season, but that’s not the full story. The Lions have lots of injuries too, and they’re 13-2. The 49ers were bad early in the season before the injuries piled up. And that’s because they had more drama than any other team during the offseason — they had three holdouts — and those distractions carried over to the regular season (see Deebo Samuel punching the long-snapper on the sideline and De’Vondre Campbell quitting mid-game). In addition, the absence of Christian McCaffrey exposed Brock Purdy. Without McCaffrey to carry the offense, Purdy simply couldn’t win close games in the fourth quarter. 

2.) Is Kyle Shanahan the right coach to lead the 49ers in the future? 

Cohn: No. He’s awful in close games. His offense isn’t good anymore — it’s averaging fewer than 18 points per game since the bye week. And his quarterback is regressing. The 49ers need a fresh start and a new voice to lead the team. After eight years, it seems that Shanahan’s voice and message don’t resonate like they used to. You have to wonder if the older players blame him for their two Super Bowl collapses. If the Bears or another team were to call the 49ers and propose a trade for Shanahan, the 49ers should accept it and move on. Because if they keep him, they’ll struggle next season, too.

3.) San Francisco faces a big decision moving forward with Brock Purdy being extension-eligible this offseason. Do you believe Brock Purdy is deserving of a lengthy, top-of-the-market extension? Why or why not?

Cohn: No. Early in his career, he played in lots of blowouts because he had Christian McCaffrey, the Offensive Player of the Year. Without him, the 49ers have been in lots of close games this season, and Purdy has won only one of them. He routinely throws the interception in the fourth quarter that loses the game. He did it two weeks ago in a do-or-die matchup against the Rams in which the 49ers scored just six points and lost, and he did it again last week against the Dolphins. The 49ers should make Purdy play out the final year of his contract. He still has much to prove.

4.) What are 1-2 key matchups that could decide Monday’s game?

Cohn: Dee Winters vs. Jahmyr Gibbs. The 49ers have good cornerbacks, but they’ve struggled to cover quick running backs out of the backfield ever since Dre Greenlaw tore his Achilles in the Super Bowl. Dee Winters simply isn’t as good as him. Last week, the 49ers gave up six catches for 70 yards to Dolphins running back Devon Achane. Look for Gibbs to have a huge game catching the ball and running it. The 49ers have given up four 100-yard rushers in their past five games.

5.) Who wins and why?

Cohn: The Lions have something to play for. The 49ers don’t. The Lions are good. The 49ers are not. This game won’t be close. 

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Despite an unsuccessful bid for San Francisco mayor, longtime Supervisor Aaron Peskin plans to still be involved “outside the tent” of city government and politics.

Come Jan. 8, San Francisco will welcome a new mayor and four new members to the board of supervisors. Peskin, currently the board’s president, will be termed out of his northeastern district seat.

First elected to the board in 2000, Peskin has served five terms, making him the city’s longest-serving district supervisor. During his tenure, colleagues elected him as the board’s president on three separate occasions. City term limits restrict supervisors from serving more than two consecutive terms, but Peskin returned to the board multiple times, despite initially planning to close his public office chapter at one point in 2009.

“I have learned so much along the way. I mean, I was 35 years old when I first ran for office. I am 60 now. Sure, there are things that I would do differently. I’ve learned that it’s always better to start with honey than with vinegar,” Peskin told ABC7 News in a one-on-one interview. “I love the city, and I keep running for supervisor and I keep winning. And it’s been a pretty wonderful chapter of my life.”

MORE: Sup. Peskin talks about his record, public safety and revitalizing SF

In a crowded race to unseat incumbent Mayor London Breed this year, Peskin stood out as the leading progressive. Peskin trailed Breed in third place, with political novice Daniel Lurie elected as mayor. In an interview with ABC7 News, Peskin said that he recently met with Lurie for coffee to offer the city hall outsider some insight.

“As somebody who has a lot of government knowledge and knows how the city works and has been very interested in making government function, I’ve let him know that I’m around for advice, free advice. I’m not looking for a job with the administration, but I’m here as a resource,” he said.

Even if Mayor-elect Lurie offered him a role in the administration, the term limit rules prohibit a supervisor from working in city hall for at least a year after leaving.

What’s next for Peskin and the city’s progressive base?

In his tenure, Peskin helped champion movements like pushing bikes and public transit over cars, drug treatment over incarceration, pushes to tax ‘Big Tech,’ and preserve SF’s iconic neighborhoods with less dense housing.

As for whether or not the progressive heartbeat of San Francisco still has a pulse, Peskin said he believes those ideals still define that city at its core.

“I think San Francisco voters are remarkably smart. They’re very well informed. They still embrace San Francisco traditional progressive values at their base. And they actually, by incredible numbers, rejected a lot of the very conservative pushes that were on the ballot,” he said. “There were wins and losses all across the ballot.”

MORE: SF Supervisor Aaron Peskin wants city to be a ‘more livable home for all’ in race for mayor

Despite his loss at the top of the ticket, Peskin points to other successful citywide ballot initiatives he backed. Like Proposition C, Peskin’s push to create and inspector general position in City Hall to crack down on corruption and increase accountability. Additionally, his Proposition E also won approval from voters, meaning the city will now evaluate its 100-plus commissions and decide whether to eliminate some going forward. It was an alternative pitch to the heavily-funded Proposition D, which would have slashed commissions down to 65 total and give the mayor more power.

“There are many individuals and organizations in San Francisco who want to make sure that these outsized political players don’t have their way with San Francisco, that the cultures that make San Francisco such a unique and envied place continue to survive and thrive in San Francisco,” he said.

Peskin said going forward he plans to coalesce existing progressive groups to make sure they are on the same page when it comes to fighting the billionaires who he said sought to “buy San Francisco.”

“San Francisco is kind of a national prize. And they have been outsized spending in San Francisco because they want to show the rest of the nation that they can take San Francisco. But the San Francisco voters aren’t having it,” he said.

MORE: SF Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie vows to revamp City Hall. Here’s what that will look like

ABC7 News Insider Phil Matier said Peskin’s departure from the board leaves a “talent train” amongst the city’s progressives, who will need to regroup without a clear leader for their values in City Hall.

“It’s a pretty nuts and bolts economic survival feeling in the city and not one that has a lot of room for ideology. We’ll have to see how the progressives go with the Donald Trump in the White House,” Matier said. “The progressives will be raising their voices. The question is, are people listening now?”

Peskin says he is “not going anywhere.”

“My interest in every aspect of the city is undiminished,” he said.