The San Francisco 49ers are five days away from the start of the 2023 NFL season, where they'll travel to face the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field in Week 1.
However, they may be flying away without star defensive end Nick Bosa, who has yet to report to the team in search of a new contract extension that likely places him near, or at, the top of the NFL in regards to the highest-paid defensive player.
The 49ers and Bosa have been negotiating for months, but an extension hasn't come yet, leaving questions as to which side is to blame in the situation.
Joining 95.7 The Game earlier this morning, NFL analyst Brian Baldinger shared his thoughts on the 49ers' handling of Bosa's contract extension and how integral he is to the team's success.
"I'm not here to sit and pound the table for Nick but obviously just don't look like the same team without him," Baldy told hosts Bonta Hill and Joe Shasky, via 95.7 The Game. "They went and paid Trent Williams, the highest paid left tackle. They paid Fred (Warner) – he was the highest-paid linebacker a brief little moment there. They paid (George) Kittle – he was the highest paid there until (Travis) Kelce beat him out. Just look – Christian McCaffrey is the highest-paid running back by a wide margin. They have agreed, that when you're a great player in this organization, they pay you and they take care of you."
Baldinger went as far as to say that the contract talks shouldn't be as difficult as portrayed at the moment, hinting at the 49ers' as the issue in not getting a deal done.
"I'm sure Nick is sitting back and going, 'I've just seen all these guys get paid. I just won Defensive Player of the Year Award, we're the No. 1 defense in football.' At some point you just go, 'What's the fight over?' I don't know. Is it only Aaron Donald money, is that what's holding it back? Is that much different than TJ Watt money? We know it's pretty easy to slot him. I just don't think it should be that difficult right now."
Regardless of when, Baldinger is in agreement that the 49ers are automatically better when Nick Bosa is on the field, as it makes gameplanning and execution much tougher for opposing offenses.
"I think it's just a whole lot easier to operate your offense when Nick is not in there," Baldy said. "You're not as concerned with the variety of protections you're gonna have, whether it's the chips, the tight ends, the slides – all the different ways you try to combat him. Maybe Drake Jackson breaks out and he can do it, but nobody is gonna be better with Nick Bosa not in there."
Not only that, but Bosa makes the entire team around him better, as seen over the past few seasons.
"We believe that Javon Hargrave is gonna be a factor. We believe Arik Armstead is gonna be a factor, but Nick makes everybody on that group, and at linebacker who lines up behind him – he makes 'em all better," Baldinger said.
Can the 49ers hammer out a deal before Week 1? At the moment, that answer appears to be trending down, but there's still time for a potential extension to come in place.