49ers’ Kyle Shanahan Gives Injury Update on Star Defender


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Nick Bosa #97 of the San Francisco 49ers.

Nick Bosa‘s presence was missed last season as the San Francisco 49ers finished 6-10 following a 2019 Super Bowl appearance.

The star defender’s 2020 season was cut short due to an ACL tear, but some good news is that head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed on Monday that Bosa should be able to return to practice in a few days.

“That’s what we’re hoping for,” Shanahan told reporters. “I think if we stay on track, I think we’ll see him next week.”

Bosa, a former second overall pick out of Ohio State in the 2019 NFL Draft, made his mark in the league right away.  He recorded 47 total tackles as a rookie, 16 for loss, and 9.0 sacks. He also recovered two fumbles and one interception.

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George Kittle Hypes Up 49ers’ 2021 Defense

49ers’ own tight end, George Kittle joined NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” this offseason where he shared his enthusiasm for a bounce-back 2021 season, specifically on defense.

“I don’t know if you guys saw this but Nick Bosa is coming back and we re-signed Trent Williams. So those guys are pretty good at football from what I remember. They’re pretty decent,” Kittle said.

While the 49ers endured an injury-plagued season, their defense still managed to rank fifth in total defense, fourth in passing defense and finish as the seventh-best rushing defense. Kittle expects their numbers to look similar to 2019 with Bosa’s return.

“On the opposite side of Nick Bosa, you’ve got Dee Ford. You’ve got Arik Armstead,” Kittle added. “Now we bring back our All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner and the two young guys outside of him who’ve been learning (and) had a great OTAs. And we bring back five starters in the secondary. Our defense is scary. It was shown in the Super Bowl. If you can’t move the ball against a defense, you can’t put up points. Defense wins championships at the end of the day.”

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Both Bosa and Warner Rank High In PFF’s Top 25

Both Warner and Bosa have become the anchors to the Niners’ defense over the last two seasons.

Pro Football Focus released its list of the top 25 players under 25 where 49ers rising star linebacker Fred Warner claimed the No. 1 spot.

Warner finished 2020 with 125 tackles (five for a loss), seven QB hits, two interceptions, and a sack. He also earned his first Pro Bowl nod. Via PFF:

Warner has become arguably the game’s best linebacker, a position that has become ever-more difficult to play given how good NFL offenses have become at attacking defensive weaknesses. The former third-round pick earned a PFF coverage grade of 91.1 in 2020, allowing a passer rating of just 81.9 into his coverage, some 25 points lower than the average at the position

Warner ended his third season giving up an average of 4.4 yards per target and opposing QBs had just a 69.7 average rating when throwing his way.

Bosa, on the other hand, has his breakout rookie season that kept him not only in the Top 10, but in the Top 5.

We have only seen one year of Nick Bosa in the NFL, with injury robbing us of an encore last season. Still, that one year was devastating. Bosa notched 80 total pressures as a rookie, breaking the PFF rookie record. He was still cooking by the Super Bowl, too, where he notched 12 pressures in a losing effort to try and contain Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. 

After posting 9.0 sacks as a rookie, Bosa earned himself Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.

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