It might seem to most outside the 49ers organization that the Nick Bosa holdout has dragged on far too long.

But the protracted nature of negotiations is of no surprise to head coach Kyle Shanahan. To the contrary, it's something he anticipated.

"It's going pretty much exactly how I expected it to go," Shanahan said in his press conference on Tuesday. "It's kind of just been exactly what I thought. … Yeah, I had a feeling it would [take this long]."

Asked when there might finally be a resolution in negations with their superstar edge rusher, Shanahan provided what may be interpreted as an encouraging response.

"Hopefully sooner [rather] than later," said Shanahan.

While the length of Bosa's contract holdout theoretically risks him not being at his best to start the season, Shanahan's lack of surprise is understandable.

The 49ers have done several high-profile deals over recent years, signing George Kittle, Fred Warner, Trent Williams and Deebo Samuel to lucrative extensions.

Yet signing the reigning Defensive Player of the Year to a historic deal, one that will almost certainly make him the highest-paid edge rusher and could make him the highest-paid defender in NFL history, was always going to be significantly more complicated.

But the Niners have stayed calm safe in the knowledge a deal will get done and confident in Bosa's ability to keep himself ready to play with his famously excellent conditioning.

"I have as much confidence [in] Nick as any player I've ever been around," added Shanahan. "You always want it to be more time [to prepare for the season]. I wish it was three weeks. I wish it was five weeks. [I'm] not sure how many weeks it's going to be, but you always would like more."

At this point it's clear Bosa will have limited time with his team ahead of the season opener. However, though the 49ers are very much a 'Super Bowl or bust' team, signing Bosa to a new deal is about much more than just this year, it's also about keeping the championship window open as long as possible.

Bosa is an undoubted window-extending talent and, even if he is not at his absolute best right off the bat in 2023, the 49ers will take that trade-off if it means they get the NFL's pre-eminent edge rusher tied down for years to come.

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