San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Drake Jackson seeks to be a dominant NFL pass rusher. He's on the right team. There are few better to learn from than Nick Bosa.
There's just one problem. Bosa hasn't been around.
The reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year did not report to training camp with his teammates on July 25. He is holding out for a new contract. The negotiations have gone longer than most expected. One person inside the organization figured a deal wouldn't happen quickly.
"It's going pretty much exactly how I expected it to go," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Tuesday. "It's kind of just been exactly what I thought. ... Yeah, I had a feeling it would [take this long]."
At this time last year, Jackson was busy soaking up knowledge from Bosa, the best mentor the then-rookie could ask for.
"I was working with him after practice every now and then, when we can," Jackson shared after Tuesday's practice. "We would get some extra work in. But man, it's just like having the answers to the test. I'm pretty sure I told you guys this before, but it's just like having the answers to the test.
"Being with Bosa, him being one of the dominant players he is, it's great to have him right by your side just to ask him questions whenever you need help."
Jackson valued Bosa's advice, knowing that the veteran pass rusher had already seen great success in the league.
"It's pretty cool just to know that a guy like him, that's really out there getting sacks, knowing what he's talking about is actually true, and it's going to work," Jackson said. "He's lived that. So to put that in your game, you could do something with that as well."
Even Bosa's offensive teammates feel there are missed opportunities to improve due to the defensive end not being on the practice field.
"He honestly gives us great work, going against Nick," center Jake Brendel said. "He barely ever uses the same move twice in practice. So being able for our tackles to go against a player like that, where you have a Rolodex of moves—he's got probably 20, maybe even more, that he can use at any given time—it is very beneficial to our tackles to go against a guy like that in camp and in practice."
Bosa hasn't been unreachable this offseason. He just hasn't been around in person. Teammates like Jackson can still reach out with any questions they might have ... or if they find a funny video on social media that they want to share with the absent defensive lineman.
Even they aren't sure when the two sides will be reunited.
The team opens its regular season on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 19 days. While Steelers fans would love to see the Niners take their time with the negotiation process, The Faithful hope a deal gets done soon. The situation seems to be dragging out. Does having limited time to prepare their talented pass rusher for Week 1 concern the coaching staff?
"I have as much confidence [in] Nick as any player I've ever been around," Shanahan said. "You always want it to be more time. I wish it was three weeks. I wish it was five weeks. [I'm] not sure how many weeks it's going to be, but you always would like more."
