Borland was selected with the 13th pick of the 3rd round (77th overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. Throughout training camp and preseason Borland competed against 49ers veteran Michael Wilhoite for a starting inside linebacker position left absent by the injured NaVorro Bowman. They still had Patrick Willis at the time as one of the two starting MLB/ILBs but with Bowman injured they had a position to fill at the interior of the defense.
Borland started to shine in his last preseason game against the Houston Texans where he led the defense in tackles with 6 and also returned an interception for a touchdown. Borland got his first career start in Week 7 against the Denver Broncos after the 49ers All-Pro ILB Patrick Willis injured his toe in the previous game against the St.Louis Rams. Borland led the 49ers defense with eight tackles, one tackle for loss and he recorded his first career sack against Peyton Manning but ultimately the 49ers were defeated 42-17. In his second start filling in for Willis, Borland recorded 18 tackles, 15 solo and three tackles for loss against the St. Louis Rams. His 18 tackles were the most tackles for a single player league-wide that season. In a week 10 matchup against the New Orleans Saints, Borland recovered an overtime 
fumble that led the 49ers to a 27-24 victory. During the game Borland recorded 17 tackles and he received his first ever NFL award, which was Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week. In week 11 he was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Eli Manning-led New York Giants where he was the first rookie linebacker in franchise history to get two interceptions in one game, the team had 5 in total. He also led the team in tackles with 13 and had three passes defended. Borland was selected as the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Month for November. On December 20, 2014, Borland was placed on season ending IR with an ankle injury. Borland finished his rookie season with 108 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 interceptions in only starting 8 games. To put that in comparison, 150-160 tackles usually leads the league and 100 tackles in a year is solid when playing every game at linebacker so to project his numbers he could of had 200 which is really impressive, especially that it was his first year.
fumble that led the 49ers to a 27-24 victory. During the game Borland recorded 17 tackles and he received his first ever NFL award, which was Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week. In week 11 he was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Eli Manning-led New York Giants where he was the first rookie linebacker in franchise history to get two interceptions in one game, the team had 5 in total. He also led the team in tackles with 13 and had three passes defended. Borland was selected as the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Month for November. On December 20, 2014, Borland was placed on season ending IR with an ankle injury. Borland finished his rookie season with 108 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 interceptions in only starting 8 games. To put that in comparison, 150-160 tackles usually leads the league and 100 tackles in a year is solid when playing every game at linebacker so to project his numbers he could of had 200 which is really impressive, especially that it was his first year.
On March 16, 2015, Borland announced his retirement from the NFL citing concern of head trauma. Borland received a $617,436 signing bonus when he inked a four-year rookie deal with the 49ers coming out of college. Borland stated he would be returning approximately three-quarters of this bonus to the team, or about $463,077. He began a 10-week unpaid internship at the nonprofit public policy center founded by Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter about 14 months after he stunned the football-watching world with his abrupt retirement from the NFL. Borland has previously said after his retirement…”I thought of a lot of different things,” Borland said last week, sitting in a Carter Center conference room. “The decision I made — when I see kids’ heads bang together, I think of [how] your brain sits unfastened in a pool of cerebrospinal fluid. And it’s gelatinous and it’s crashing against a hard skull. So that’s kind of an image I always have when football’s on”. More people and players are going to have this mindset which is dangerous for the future of the game but the league continues to grow, or at least has before 2016.
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