SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Kyle Shanahan made it a point to encourage his star defensive lineman Nick Bosa to attend these voluntary San Francisco 49ers’ OTAs. The coach has gotten his wish, with Bosa on the field and in uniform over two practices to begin the week.
“Kyle stated why he felt that it would be good for me to be here and asked if I agreed,” Bosa said after Tuesday’s practice. “And I 100 percent did agree.”
Advertisement
The primary reason behind Shanahan’s request, according to both Bosa and Shanahan, was the 49ers’ major roster turnover along the defensive line this offseason. The team released veteran stalwart Arik Armstead in March and added six new defensive linemen, five of whom are veterans with a good chance to contribute immediately.
“I think it’s just good to get around the new guys — we have a lot of new faces this year,” Bosa said. “So I want to be around.”
Bosa trains with his brother, Joey, at the duo’s private Florida gym over the offseason. In recent years, he hadn’t traveled to the West Coast for voluntary OTAs, showing up only to June’s mandatory veteran minicamp instead.
But both Bosa and Shanahan explained that there’ve been reasons that Bosa hasn’t typically been on hand for OTAs since his 2019 rookie season, when he strained his hamstring during the second practice of the session. The NFL canceled the in-person offseason program in 2020 during the pandemic. Bosa was rehabbing from a torn ACL when 2021’s OTAs rolled around. And although Bosa was healthy in 2023, he and the 49ers were embroiled in contract negotiations that wouldn’t be resolved until September — after a prolonged holdout that extended beyond training camp. Those negotiations ended with Bosa signing a deal to become the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL at $34 million per year.
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign up
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign up
Buy
Bosa is fine with missing some at-home training time this season, especially since Joey — who also doesn’t typically attend OTAs — jetted off to the West Coast to practice with his Los Angeles Chargers.
“He’s got a new regime over there,” Bosa said, referring to his brother’s new Chargers coach, Jim Harbaugh. “So we’re both in California.”
Bosa said that OTA work is actually a slight breather from his Florida routine.
GO DEEPER
Want a Nick Bosa burst? It takes sweat, sacrifice ... and a personal chef
“It’s a little less workload than I’m doing back home, so it’s good active recovery thing for me,” he said. “And I’m getting football work in specifically, so that’s good.”
That, of course, was missing as Bosa held out last year. He signed his megadeal a few days before the 49ers faced the Pittsburgh Steelers to open the season.
Advertisement
“Last year was kind of tough getting thrown in Week 1 after a walkthrough,” Bosa said. “That’s another reason I’m out here: to get some practice in.”
Bosa finished the 2023 season with 10 1/2 sacks, but that was a significant downtick from the 18 1/2-sack 2022 campaign that netted him NFL defensive player of the year honors. He’s blamed at least part of that regression on rust which resulted from a lack of football-specific offseason training.
The hope is for that to change this season. That comes as the 49ers are shooting for a larger reversal along their defensive line, which struggled through its worst season since Bosa joined the team in 2019. Most glaringly, the 49ers ranked No. 26 in EPA per play against the run last season. They also struggled to find consistent production from the edge-rushing spot opposite Bosa.
Those issues helped spark the D-line’s overhaul. The 49ers traded with the Houston Texans for defensive tackle Maliek Collins, a move aimed at replacing Armstead. They signed former Cleveland Browns tackle Jordan Elliott to replace Javon Kinlaw, who left in free agency to the New York Jets. And they also added two defensive ends, Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos, to fortify the edge-rushing position that lost Chase Young in free agency to the New Orleans Saints.
Bosa is especially hopeful that Floyd, who’s amassed 39 1/2 sacks over the past four seasons, can be the consistently productive bookend that the 49ers have missed since 2019 — when Dee Ford was last healthy for a prolonged stretch of play.
“I think he’s a super skilled rusher,” Bosa said of Floyd. “Good length. He’s more athletic than I even realized. Guys like him, when they come into our scheme, the best is brought out of them. So I’m excited to see what potential he has. He’s Year 9, and I feel as a D-lineman you can keep improving all the way through 10 years in this league.”
GO DEEPER
Deebo Samuel, now in a slimming No. 1 jersey, stands out in 49ers' OTA practice
As for Bosa, this is Year 6. He’s no longer the fresh-faced youngster who helped transform the 49ers defense and turn the team into a perennial title contender. He’s now a grizzled veteran, hardened by a series of painful playoff losses and 2020’s season-ending injury, but still only 26 years old.
That combination of veteran wisdom and youthful whimsicality was on display Tuesday, as Bosa jostled between a serious tone and a wide, lighthearted smile — all in response to one question about the 49ers’ Super Bowl LVIII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Advertisement
“Unfortunately, I know how to bounce back from tough losses, so it was rough for a little bit,” Bosa said, looking at the floor. That’s when he broke into that big smile. “But now, it’s just annoying when people bring it up.”
A couple minutes later, Bosa followed a similar pattern when talking about 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.
“He’s definitely getting more vocal within the building,” Bosa said. “I don’t think he’s someone who’s going to change even when he gets paid next year. He’s a man of faith. He kind of reminds me of Scottie Scheffler, except for …”
GO DEEPER
Inside the most bizarre day in major golf with the arrest of Scottie Scheffler
Bosa couldn’t help but break into another laughing smile as he realized that Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 ranked golfer, had been arrested last week — obviously making his comparison less than timely. But Bosa gathered himself to finish his answer about Purdy’s burgeoning popularity.
“He’s just super humble and a really good kid,” Bosa said. “And he’s definitely famous.”
Bosa is also famous, of course. He and Purdy are two of many prominent 49ers, both with big leadership responsibilities on their respective sides of the ball. That’s why the team finds Bosa’s presence at these OTAs — and around the 49ers team in general — to be particularly significant.
“All right, Bosa’s taking this serious,” Purdy said Tuesday when asked about his response to Bosa’s presence at OTAs. “We all should.”
"If Bosa's taking this serious, then we all should."
Brock Purdy shares what it means to have Nick Bosa at OTAs 🙌 pic.twitter.com/q7vN0IZpX0
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) May 21, 2024
It may only be spring, but the 49ers are managing multiple moving pieces — including a contract negotiation for receiver Brandon Aiyuk that has him away from the team facility — in their quest to fully ready the ship for the fall. And Bosa, who’s been through the ups and downs of the NFL in both its on-field and its business aspects, is a potentially stabilizing presence. Bosa said he even recently spoke with Aiyuk, encouraging him to stay positive through what’s lining up to be another lengthy negotiation.
Advertisement
“It’s a tough business for sure — you have to have thick skin,” Bosa said. “I think you have to understand that it is a business and the team is going to try to get as good as it possibly can with or without you and you have to look out for yourself. That’s why you go through holdouts and do things that seem selfish in the moment.
“But when everything is settled, we’re going to come together as a team and try to go get one.”
(Photo from 2023 training camp: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images
