Nick Bosa dispels any doubts about his physical shape on return to 49ers practice
After touching down in the Bay Area while many were asleep, Nick Bosa gave 49ers fans the sight they have been waiting to see since the start of the offseason as he returned to practice after signing a long-awaited and record-breaking contract extension. The reigning Defensive Player of the year, having agreed to a five-year, […]
After touching down in the Bay Area while many were asleep, Nick Bosa gave 49ers fans the sight they have been waiting to see since the start of the offseason as he returned to practice after signing a long-awaited and record-breaking contract extension.
The reigning Defensive Player of the year, having agreed to a five-year, $170 million extension on Wednesday, worked on a side field as the 49ers continued their preparations for Sunday's season opener against the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
San Francisco has a two-game roster exemption for Bosa but is likely to activate him to the 53-man roster before the opener. When they do so, they must make a corresponding move. While there may be lingering concern about how mentally prepared Bosa will be to play given his lack of practice time, any doubts about his physical shape should now be extinguished.
Bosa, at least by the evidence of videos from practice, is unsurprisingly still in excellent physical shape, meaning there is little chance of head coach Kyle Shanahan doing the unthinkable and leaving the defensive end out of the lineup in Pittsburgh despite his prolonged absence from the team.
On Wednesday, Shanahan said Bosa would have to show up with a "beer belly" for him to consider not playing the former second overall pick against the Steelers.
As Shanahan pointed out, being out of shape is not in Bosa's DNA and, aided by playing a position that doesn't ask too much of him mentally, a player renowned for his excellent conditioning will be anticipated to hit the ground running, especially against a Steelers left tackle in Dan Moore Jr. whose 39 pressures allowed were tied for the 14th most among tackles in 2022, per Pro Football Focus.
With the 49ers possessing questionable edge depth behind Bosa, they can ill-afford for him to be anything at his best in the opener.
However, with Adam Schefter reporting that Bosa essentially stepped in to bridge an apparently large gap in negotiations between the 49ers and his representatives and get the deal done, it is clear his focus has long since been fixed on being ready to help his team with a typically devastating Week 1 showing.
Concern about Bosa after the length of his holdout is understandable, but the evidence would appear to point to it being misplaced.
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