The San Francisco 49ers are still holding out hope that star pass rusher Nick Bosa will be available for the team's Week 1 road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, that game is just six days away, and Bosa's teammates must be ready to play without the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
"For us, we just got to play with who we got," safety Talanoa Hufanga told reporters in the 49ers locker room after Monday's bonus practice. "We would love to have Bosa, obviously. I think that's a no-brainer. Best defensive player in NFL, and it shows."
Bosa is on day 41 of his holdout. The defensive end did not report to training camp with his teammates on July 25. He is waiting until the 49ers and his agent agree on a new contract, one that will likely make him one of the highest-paid (if not the highest-paid) defensive players in the NFL.
"For us, we've just got to prepare as if he's not going to be here," Hufanga continued. "Obviously, that's an upper-echelon question; that's a front-office question. And so, for me, I don't know if I can answer anything else on that, but once he's here, we'd love to have him."
#49ers Talanoa Hufanga says he's feeling well after battling cyst/knee in camp, would feel better with Nick Bosa here for Week 1 vs Steelers pic.twitter.com/iYucx4rqv1
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) September 4, 2023
San Francisco drafted Bosa (6-4, 266) out of Ohio State with the No. 2 overall pick in 2019. He registered 51 tackles, 19 tackles for a loss, 48 quarterback hits, a league-leading 18.5 sacks, a pass defensed, and two forced fumbles through 16 starts with the 49ers last season, per Pro Football Reference.
Over the weekend, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported that a deal between the 49ers and Bosa is likely to get done, but his availability for Week 1 is not guaranteed.
"Nick Bosa and the 49ers, a bit more optimism here," Fowler said. "People I talk to believe he will be the highest defensive player in the league, above [Aaron] Donald's $31+ million if they can get this at the finish line. The 49ers would like to push this through before Week 1, but not a slam dunk. A deal of this magnitude has a lot of nuance to it that they have to shake out with the structure and the guarantees and all that."
The 49ers are currently 2.5-point favorites over the Steelers.