Nick Bosa is the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year. The talented pass rusher is a big reason why the San Francisco 49ers defense finished as the NFL's top-ranked unit last season.
Bosa did not report to training camp last week with the rest of his teammates. That didn't come as a surprise to anyone. The defender awaits a new contract and probably won't risk stepping on the practice field until he puts pen to paper. The two sides don't appear to be close to an agreement. Still, there is a lot of optimism that it will get done.
"I don't like not having one of our best players here," general manager John Lynch said on Monday. "We've got a really good track record that I'm proud of as a group of having our players in. But I also understand it, and understand that we're going to have to exhibit some patience, and understand that, ultimately, this thing will work out. I'm very confident in that."
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Linebacker Fred Warner misses his teammate. Practices haven't been the same without Bosa.
"I miss him. I miss him a lot, man," Warner said Tuesday morning on KNBR's "Murph & Mac" show. "That's my guy. But ... it's all business. At the end of the day, I'm positive it'll get done in one fashion or another. But I do miss him. That's my guy.
"... He makes my job a lot easier when he's coming off that edge and setting the edge in the run game. He's proved it all already, Defensive Player of the Year and at the top of his game. And I know there's even more there, which is scary. I'm excited."
Safety Talanoa Hufanga isn't too concerned about Bosa's absence, knowing all the work the defensive end puts in to stay game-day ready, both physically and mentally.
"We are not worried that he's not at practice because that dude, we know how detailed he is in the offseason, and how he works, and how he eats, and how he sleeps," Hufanga said during his own KNBR interview. "Everything is just like down to a T. So when he gets here, he ain't going to skip a beat. He's going to be right in there."
Warner added, "He comes ready to go every time."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Warner below.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Hufanga below.
