The San Francisco 49ers kick off their 2019 training camp on Friday, July 26. Practices officially start the next day.
One player many will want to watch is rookie edge rusher Nick Bosa, whom the Niners selected No. 2 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft. Bosa suffered a minor hamstring injury early during organized team activities, was removed from practices and all but ruled out of on-field events until training camp.
According to Pro Football Focus' 49ers Twitter account, Bosa is expected to be a full participant for camp:
Nick Bosa will be full-go to participate at training camp when player report in less than a month! pic.twitter.com/eA9t5MrsB5
— PFF SF 49ers (@PFF_49ers) July 1, 2019
This was likely the plan all along, so it shouldn't come as a shock Bosa is scheduled to return in time for training camp. Given the lofty draft investment on his services, San Francisco needed not take chances with his health. His injury did, however, create some concern about previous injuries, namely the 2018 abdominal injury, which required surgery and ultimately convinced Bosa to sit out the rest of the year at Ohio State in preparation for a life in the NFL.
Yet such a conclusion might be a bit premature. It's not uncommon to see players, not just rookies, suffer minor soft-tissue injuries early during offseason workouts. The 49ers were hit with a number of these early in OTAs, and many of those players (including Bosa) were ruled out until training camp.
Bosa has yet to sign his rookie contract, which could delay him getting onto the field by the time camp starts. That said, the 49ers have gone through similar situations with first-round NFL Draft picks before. In 2017, defensive end Solomon Thomas wasn't signed by the time training camp began. The following year, offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey's deal was done just before camp started.
If Bosa and the 49ers' standoff goes into August, that might be a problem.
At least it's looking like health won't be, though, and that's good news for San Francisco.