Nick Bosa started participating in team drills this week. Whether or not he plays on Sunday afternoon hasn't been revealed. You would imagine the San Francisco 49ers are content with keeping their most valuable pass rusher sidelined and out of harm's way until the regular season.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan isn't as worried about the lack of practice or preseason reps for Bosa.
"I know Nick. We don't have to make a lot of decisions for him when it comes to football," Shanahan said last month. "He's thinking about his body and what's right 24-7. ... But as I joked with Nick, I feel like he's been developed as a pass rusher since he was like three, so he's been focused on it. It's a little bit easier with him."
Bosa is returning from the ACL injury that he suffered during Week 2 of last season. On his first pass-rushing snap during team drills yesterday, the defender recorded a would-be sack. So it seems the 2019 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year is back to form.
Tight end George Kittle, after a humorous back-and-forth with new NBC Sports Bay Area analyst Joe Staley, was asked about Bosa's progress. How has the 23-year-old pass rusher looked this week, and what has it been like trying to block him on the practice field again?
"Nick Bosa's Nick Bosa," Kittle responded. "He's playing at a high level, physical, fast. Kind of like water, just finds the path of least resistance, just like Joey. Nick's got a little bit better leverage just because he's a little shorter. But the power's he's got, he's just kind of savvy too."
Allowing Bosa to play this weekend might not make a whole lot of sense. After all, the goal is to have the pass rusher ready for Week 1 and keep him on the field for the whole season.
"I know he's happy to be back, and I know that he's feeling great," Kittle added. "I mean, he just brings a new energy to our defense too because when Nick Bosa is on the field, you got to kind of put a lot of attention on him, and it opens up a lot of things for our defense."