SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Eric Kendricks was sitting at home waiting for the right opportunity when the San Francisco 49ers called him Thanksgiving week with the offer of a spot on the practice squad.
Garret Wallow was picked up by San Francisco off waivers in December after being cast off by the Denver Broncos.
Click to Gallery
San Francisco 49ers' Upton Stout and Garret Wallow celebrate in the fourth quarter of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is stopped by San Francisco 49ers' Eric Kendricks during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
San Francisco 49ers' Eric Kendricks speaks during a news conference after an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
San Francisco 49ers' Eric Kendricks reacts to defensive play in the third quarter of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
The two linebackers who were afterthoughts for most of the 2025 season played key roles for the banged-up San Francisco 49ers in their wild-card win over the Philadelphia Eagles that set up a divisional round matchup against Seattle on Saturday.
Kendricks had 10 tackles, including two for loss, and broke up a fourth-down pass that sealed a 23-19 win for the 49ers (13-5). Wallow had 11 tackles and a pass defensed in his first start in three years as the two were part of a defense that held Philadelphia to just a pair of field goals on the final seven drives.
“I don’t think they just stepped up and got through the game,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. "I think they played at a high level.”
It's been a season filled with some unlikely contributors for a 49ers team ravaged by injuries from Jake Tonges' winning touchdown catch in the opener to Eddy Pineiro's near-perfect mark on field goals to Kendrick Bourne's 142-yard receiving game that fueled a Week 5 upset against the Los Angeles Rams.
Kendricks and Wallow were just the latest surprise contributors.
Kendricks, who spurned San Francisco at the last minute in the 2024 free agency period, had been sitting out his season waiting for the right opportunity after spending last season in Dallas and undergoing shoulder surgery in late January.
“I was ready to sign with a team in the offseason. I really was. If something felt right," he said. “It was about me getting a playbook and getting in there with the guys. But it was just me being patient, not being too eager to jump on something that didn’t feel right, and just waiting for that right opportunity.”
That came when the 49ers called in November when Tatum Bethune went down with an ankle injury.
Kendricks’ typical day before joining the Niners featured a 5:20 a.m. alarm for a 6 a.m. workout. He’d then return home to wake up his two young kids and cook pancakes for his son and eggs for his daughter. He’d then head back out for more workouts and recovery before starting over the next day.
“I tried to keep myself busy, tried to stay in a routine because I just knew if I needed to be ready, I was going to be ready,” he said.
He has shown that he was ready.
The 33-year-old Kendricks was slowed by his own injuries at first. But he was healthy enough to be elevated from the practice squad to the active roster for the final three games, playing just 46 defensive snaps.
When Bethune went down with a season-ending groin injury in Week 18, Kendricks was promoted to the 53-man roster and started the playoff opener as the middle linebacker calling the defensive signals.
He's handled the role seamlessly with help from assistant coach and former NFL linebacker K.J. Wright, who entered the NFL only four years before Kendricks in 2011.
“I’ve been kind of just knocking on his meeting door, getting extra time with him since I got here,” Kendricks said. “Whether it’s super early in the morning or after meetings, I feel like he’s got me prepared. We went through a bunch of situations, watched a bunch of film together.”
That paid off on the final defensive play against the Eagles. Kendricks lined up like he might be blitzing but dropped back and broke up a pass near the goal line from Jalen Hurts to Dallas Goedert on fourth-and-11 in the final minute.
Now Kendricks, who went to the playoffs four times in his first eight seasons with Minnesota, is two wins away from making his first Super Bowl.
“I would say it’s unlikely because I was not on a team for so long, so a little bit unlikely,” he said. “From the outside looking in, I think it may look super unlikely, but being in the building for the last month and some change now, it’s not a question by me of why we’re in the situation we’re in. I believe in this team.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
San Francisco 49ers' Upton Stout and Garret Wallow celebrate in the fourth quarter of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is stopped by San Francisco 49ers' Eric Kendricks during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
San Francisco 49ers' Eric Kendricks speaks during a news conference after an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
San Francisco 49ers' Eric Kendricks reacts to defensive play in the third quarter of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Iran's top judge hinted at fast trials and executions for those who were detained in nationwide protests against the country's theocracy, even as activists said Wednesday that the death toll rose to levels unseen in decades with at least 2,572 people killed so far.
Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei made the comments about trials and executions in a video Tuesday, despite a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump that he would “take very strong action” if executions take place.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said the number of dead climbed to at least 2,571 early Wednesday. The figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
After Trump was informed on the number of deaths, he warned Iran's leaders that he was terminating any negotiations and would “act accordingly.”
Details of the crackdown began emerging Tuesday as Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days after authorities severed communications countrywide when the protests broke out.
Here is the latest:
India's Embassy in Tehran urged Wednesday all Indian nationals to leave Iran, citing what it called an “evolving situation” in the Islamic Republic.
The statement, posted on X, also advised Indian citizens to remain highly vigilant and avoid protest areas.
German police said Wednesday the two climbed over a fence into embassy grounds and tore down an Iranian flag. Both wanted to hoist two pre-Islamic Republic flags but failed, German news agency dpa reported.
They left the grounds when guards used pepper spray and were detained on the sidewalk outside.
The incident happened late Tuesday.
Major Middle East governments were discouraging the Trump administration from waging a war with Iran, fearing “unprecedented consequences” in the volatile region, an Arab Gulf diplomat said Wednesday.
The Cairo-based diplomat, who was given anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media, said major governments in the region including Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabai and Pakistan have been “in constant contact” with the U.S. administration over a potential American strike on Iran that could explode into a “full-blown war.”
Such a war will “certainly” have dire repercussions “not only on the Middle East but also on the global economy," he said.
Iranian state television said Wednesday’s mass funeral in Tehran would include 300 bodies of security force members and civilians. The funeral is expected to take place at Tehran University under heavy security.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency, which is tracking the death toll, said more than 2,550 people have been killed, 2,403 protesters and 147 government-affiliated.
Twelve children were killed, along with nine civilians it said were not taking part in protests. More than 18,100 people have been detained, the group said.
Gauging the demonstrations and the death toll from abroad has grown more difficult and The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll given the communications being disrupted in the country.
Melanie Lidman contributed from Jerusalem.
Trump’s decision to impose a 25% tariff on countries that trade with Iran could impact India, an expert said, as New Delhi already faces existing 50% U.S. trade levies due its purchases of Russian oil.
Abhijit Mukhopadhyay, a senior economist at the Chintan Research Foundation in New Delhi, said the bigger risk is not India-Iran trade, but India’s access to the U.S. market as its exports to Iran are modest.
India mainly exports rice, tea, sugar, pharmaceuticals and electrical machinery to Iran, while importing dry fruits and chemical products. Textiles and garments, gems and jewelry and engineering goods are likely to be the most vulnerable sectors, he said.
Trump’s latest move also could affect India’s investments in Iran including the strategically important Chabahar port, which gives India a trade route to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Europe while bypassing Pakistan, Mukhopadhyay said.
Iran’s judiciary chief signals fast trials and executions for those detained in nationwide protests.
Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei made the comment in a video shared by Iranian state television on Wednesday.
He emphasized the need for swift action, saying delays would lessen the impact.
His remarks challenge Trump, who warned Iran about executions in an interview aired Tuesday.
Trump stated the U.S. would take strong action if Iran proceeded with executions. The situation highlights escalating tensions between the two countries over the handling of the protests.
Dozens of Pakistani students studying in Iran have returned home through a remote southwestern border crossing, a Pakistani immigration official said Wednesday.
Federal Investigation Agency spokesperson in Quetta city, Samina Raisani, said about 60 students crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday through Gabd border in Balochistan province with valid travel documents.
More students were expected to return through the same crossing later Wednesday, she said.
Mudassir Tipu, Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, said Tuesday that Iranian universities had rescheduled exams and permitted international students to leave the country.
The satellite internet provider Starlink now offers free service in to people Iran who have access to the company's receivers, activists said Wednesday.
Mehdi Yahyanejad, a Los Angeles-based activist who helped get the units into Iran, told The Associated Press that the free service had started. Other activists also confirmed in messages online that the service was free.
Starlink has been the only way for Iranians to communicate with the outside world since authorities shut down the internet Thursday night as nationwide protests swelled and they began a bloody crackdown against demonstrators.
Starlink did not immediately acknowledge the decision.
This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran's capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)
