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TAMPA, Fla. — Nine seasons of 49ers drama under coach Kyle Shanahan — exhilarating highs and gutting lows — had never produced the shocking spectacle seen in the locker room postgame on Sunday.

Fred Warner … wasn’t there.

Now, it must be noted that the future Hall of Fame linebacker — who’d suffered a dislocated and fractured ankle in the 49ers’ 30-19 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — had actually been able to break down the team’s huddle immediately following the defeat.

But Warner’s stall and chair were empty when the media entered the room a few minutes later, and it was a jarring sight because of its rarity. Warner has played in 132 of 133 possible games over his eight-year career — and he’s now surely bound for his first extended absence ever.

“He’s the one constant,” 49ers left tackle Trent Williams said on the other side of a deflated, murmuring room. “He’s been there when we’ve won. He’s been there when we’ve lost.

“It’s heartbreaking. Not only is he one of the best linebackers to ever play the game, he’s the heart and soul of this team — not just the heart and soul of the defense. It’s really like a gut punch — it truly is hard to continue the intensity of playing a game like that never happened.”

The 49ers’ defense indeed collapsed following Warner’s exit, even though Tatum Bethune — his immediate replacement — notched 11 tackles. And to the 49ers’ credit, the implosion wasn’t immediate. But it was inevitable. Tampa Bay racked up 226 yards over three drives straddling halftime, averaging a gluttonous 10.2 yards per play over those marches.

It appeared that the 49ers might have just enough to stop the bleeding on the third drive, when edge rushers Bryce Huff and Trevis Gipson had Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield wrapped up on third-and-14. But the QB somehow slipped out of their grasp and then beat the entire 49ers defense for a diving first-down scramble that preceded a 45-yard touchdown pass to uncovered receiver Tez Johnson.

The breakdown of epic proportions was representative of the challenge ahead for the 49ers, who are 4-2 and still atop their division.

To sustain any type of run, the 49ers will have to generate elite offensive production to mask an ailing defense that’s also already lost star pass rusher Nick Bosa for the season.

The Mac Jones attack certainly didn’t pack the necessary juice on Sunday.

In fact, Mayfield himself might’ve shown the 49ers the required formula — but they’ll need the return of starting quarterback Brock Purdy to execute it (he has a chance to be back when the 49ers host the Atlanta Falcons next week).

Bucs coach Todd Bowles harassed 49ers QB Mac Jones with a heavy dose of blitzes. Jones, who’s not nearly as mobile as Mayfield and Purdy and who needed a painkilling injection in his injured oblique just to play after struggling to throw for much of the week, was unable to evade enough of Tampa Bay’s pressure. The Bucs sacked Jones six times.

In their previous win against the Rams, the 49ers had raced out to a 14-0 lead that allowed the offense to play the game with a downhill cushion. But this time, Jones opened with an interception — receiver Kendrick Bourne screwed up the route, so it wasn’t the QB’s fault — which effectively spotted the Bucs a seven-point lead.

So although Jones and Bourne — who then caught five explosive passes to deliver his second straight 142-yard performance — again fought valiantly, the 49ers were sitting ducks. The deficit made it even harder to run effectivity — this is the first time in franchise history that the 49ers have failed to reach 85 rushing yards in each of their first six games — and that forced Jones to drop back 51 times.

A Dominick Puni false start penalty killed a QB sneak chance and set up a late Jones interception. That extinguished the 49ers’ hopes in a game that saw the Warner-less defense scorched to the tune of 7.0 yards per play.

“I was disappointed I didn’t play better for him today,” said Jones, who finished with 347 passing yards on 39 attempts. “I can sometimes create good play, but I didn’t do enough of that today.”

The 49ers did maintain a puncher’s chance largely thanks to their kicker, Eddy Piñeiro, who drilled four field goals on the same field that had seen Jake Moody miss three kicks the season prior (Moody ultimately kicked the winner in that 2024 game — after a monstrous catch and run from receiver Jauan Jennings put the 49ers in range.)

This time, though, Jennings made no such dramatic contribution. He instead engaged in a yelling match on the sideline with Shanahan — “it was just an intense, competitive conversation between two people at the end of the second quarter, but we’re good,” the coach said — before committing two penalties to begin the second half and finishing with only one catch.

“You’d have to ask him,” Jennings said when asked about the incident with Shanahan. The receiver then revealed that he’s playing with five broken ribs.

Perhaps there’s lingering tension following a training camp standoff between Jennings and the 49ers, which ended without a contract extension for the receiver. The team did tack on $3 million in incentives to Jennings’ deal, but they’re attainable only if he plays and produces — and he was on the sideline while exchanging those words with Shanahan.

The 49ers will have to put those verbal unpleasantries behind them. The regular season, with 11 games left, is still relatively young. And despite the absolute brutality of this season’s start in the injury department, Shanahan sees a young team with plenty to fight for — despite the loss of multiple foundational defensive pillars.

Yes, Warner’s stall was jarringly empty in that locker room. But the 49ers have no choice but to try and fill it.

‘These are moments when guys have got to step it up,” Shanahan said, noting that the 49ers should see star tight end George Kittle and other key players return soon. “I’m glad that we’ve played some decent football to put us in this position — at least with our record. And now we’ve got to find a way to get better everywhere else.”