Nick Bosa is itching to get back on the football field after missing all but two games last season. San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said that the young pass rusher could start participating in team drills as early as this week. The Niners hold their first practice of the week tomorrow, and there will be a lot of eyes looking to see how much work Bosa receives, if any.
Bosa's teammates know what he means to the 49ers defense. Without him and veteran Dee Ford, the defensive front struggled to come anywhere close to the level of production it displayed in 2019.
The Niners have been cautious with Bosa, knowing the impact he will have on the upcoming season. According to one teammate, the defender is eager to put last year's wasted season behind him.
"Oh yeah, he's going to be ready to go Week 1," running back Raheem Mostert said on the Tiki and Tierney podcast. "I don't know as far as what is going to happen this last preseason game with him, and quite frankly, I don't really care because all I want is for him to open up the season fresh and ready to go."
That's bad news for opposing quarterbacks, who have to worry about the fast and powerful pass rusher on every drop back. All indications are that the 49ers have been happy with Bosa's recovery. Defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans is eager to see how his defender reacts to his last mental hurdle before getting back on the football field — team drills.
"Once he goes through that and sees that he's fine, then I think he's going to be better than he was his rookie year," Ryans said last week.
That would be impressive. After all, Bosa was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2019, recording nine sacks in the regular season and adding four more in the playoffs.
"He's doing a great job," Mostert continued. "His rehab is coming along great. I've been talking to him, staying up with him, stuff like that. He's excited. He really is. He knows that he left some stuff out there on the field last year with injury and stuff like that, but I know this is going to be his bounce-back year, and I'm excited to watch him."
The 49ers won the division in 2019. It was a campaign that ended with a trip to the Super Bowl. Does Mostert feel his team can rebound from its injury-plagued 2020 season and return to the top of the highly competitive NFC West?
"Oh yeah, definitely," Mostert responded. "There's not question about it. We definitely feel that we're going to be atop this division."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Mostert below.
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