T
he San Francisco 49ers are on a roll and looking to officially clinch a playoff berth with a win in week 16. Despite dealing with a whole rash of injuries, the 49ers have still found ways to win and are right in the mix for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Getting back a handful of players after their week 14 bye, the 49ers will use these next three weeks to build even more momentum as they prepare for a deep playoff run.
But the 49ers are not just getting back guys on the field. At the start of the season, longtime 49ers and Bay Area sports broadcaster Greg Papa announced that he was battling cancer and would miss time as he recovered– with KNBR using several fill-ins for game broadcasts. But now, Papa and KNBR announced that he would return for the final three games of the season with his cancer now in remission.
Papa’s Return
Expected to miss the entire season, Papa’s early return signals that his cancer treatment went well and he is fully ready to return to Bay Area radio waves. The host of the KNBR radio show, Papa & Silver, the radio network brought in 49ers’ director of broadcast partnership, Bob Sargent, to announce the news and set up the grand reveal of Papa’s long awaited return.
“I have just completed paperwork with the league, and we have officially activated Greg Papa off the ‘NFI’ list,” Sargent joked. “So his 21-day practice window has officially been opened.”
Papa’s co-host Greg Silver, announced that Papa would make his return on Dec. 28 for the 49ers’ Week 17 Sunday Night Football matchup against the Chicago Bears while simultaneously confirming that Papa would also be on the call for the regular season finale against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18. Papa will rejoin his partner, Tim Ryan, who has served as the 49ers’ radio color commentator since 2019.
Papa’s Health Update
Papa was first diagnosed with a form of leukemia on July 16 and immediately announced that he was taking a leave of absence from KNBR. At the time, Papa’s son Derek and co-host of the KNBR show ‘Dirty Work’ said that it was highly unlikely that Papa would return during the 2025 season. And while Papa was able to return to KNBR’s four-hour midday show on Sept. 16 and has done 49ers content from home throughout the season, he has stayed off the game day broadcasts. But after declaring that his cancer was in remission on Wednesday, Papa is excited to get back to work and is grateful for all of the medical professionals that helped him get to this point.
“I’m healthy,” Papa said. “… I could not go through all the people at UCSF, where I was yesterday, that have basically saved my life and put me on a course to live my life again, as normal as I can.”
Now that Papa is back, 49ers fans can grow accustomed once again to hearing their flagship voice return on a regular basis. And with him back, the team could look to welcome him back in the only way they know how– beating the Indianapolis Colts to officially clinch a playoff spot.
49ers Broadcaster Set to Return to the Booth After Battling Cancer