The San Francisco 49ers might want to attempt to hammer out a contract extension with defensive end Nick Bosa as soon as possible, because it sounds like he's determined to kick things up a notch after his outstanding 2021 season.
Bosa had the best season in years for a 49ers defensive lineman, totaling 52 tackles, 15.5 sacks, 21 tackles for loss, and 32 quarterback hits. It was as good of a performance as one could have expected from him after missing most of the 2020 season with a torn ACL, and it was the right performance at the right time given the fact he'll be eligible for his first contract extension later this year. Bosa has one more season on his four-year rookie contract along with a team option for year five, but it's safe to assume the 49ers would like to make an extension for their star pass rusher a priority at some point, and if he continues to improve on what he showed in 2021, Bosa's already lofty price tag (he can be expected to land something at least in the neighborhood of the four-year, $112 million deal the Steelers gave to T.J. Watt in September) will continue to soar.
Bosa spoke to 49ers beat reporters during final media session of the season on Monday and discussed what he has in mind for the coming months, saying that a contract extension wasn't among his current priorities.
"I haven't thought about that," Bosa told reporters one day after the 49ers fell 20-17 to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship. "I was just trying to finish out the year and have a great year. That's definitely something for down the road to think about."
What is among Bosa's priorities, however, is doing whatever he can to make his fitness level even better after his standout 2021 season. Bosa put in an impressive amount of conditioning to recover from his torn ACL throughout 2021, and even though that conditioning put him in the best shape of his career, he thinks he can surpass it now that he doesn't have to worry about spending time with rehab.
"I'm really excited to have a full offseason just to build on what I got to last year," Bosa said. "I wasn't really able to maximize my strength and conditioning stuff with getting my rehab right and stuff. So this year I'm going to give my knee a lot of time to just chill because I haven't really given it any rest since I got hurt, so it needs some time, then I'm going to get back and I'm going to get in the best shape of my life for sure. And I was in the best shape of my life last year, so it's going to be another level. I'm excited."
There were plenty of unknowns in terms of what Bosa would bring to the 49ers this season given the uncertainty surrounding any player coming off a torn ACL. But he showed no signs of injury hangover whatsoever and even caught himself off-guard with how well he played. On top of everything, Bosa played in every game, making it through the entire season without any serious injuries.
"I actually did surprise myself," Bosa said. "If you asked me what I thought I was going to be able to do a couple months before the season, I definitely don't know what I would have told you. But I just knew that I was in the right hands with who I was training with. I knew I was doing everything right, so I just had to stick with the plan and not dwell on the bumps on the road that I dealt with along the way. That ended up paying off. I think my knee kind of improved throughout the entire season, so we kind of continued the rehab process throughout the whole year. So I'm feeling health-wise as good as I've felt all year—maybe not this second because I'm pretty sore. But I'm just really happy with how it went."
Bosa proved in 2021 that he should be considered a long-term cornerstone for the 49ers and is one of the most important pieces on a roster of highly talented players. It remains to be seen how many of those pieces will be back next season, but Bosa will certainly be among them, and he'll be hoping to be able to build off the team's NFC Championship appearance in addition to what he was able to personally accomplish throughout the year.
"This whole team's really special," Bosa said. "A lot of unselfish guys. Deebo [wide receiver Deebo Samuel] for sure being one of them, just going out there with bumps and bruises every week and playing running back and wide receiver for us. I could go on and on about all the guys we have on our team, and we're good enough to win it all, so we just have to build off of it. We've got the right core group of guys. There's a lot of decisions to be made that I don't have a part in, so we'll see what happens."
But while Bosa has plenty of work in mind for the coming months, it'll also be to his benefit to take some time off. He's been on a constant grind for over a year trying to make his way back from injury, but this offseason he'll have the opportunity to step back and take a breather, which might be something he'll use to his advantage.
"I definitely need to relax my mind and figure out how to enjoy my leisure time," Bosa said. "It's been a while."