Like San Francisco 49ers fans, Kyle Shanahan is relieved. Heading to his press conference with reporters on Wednesday, the head coach learned that his Niners had finally signed their best defensive player, Nick Bosa. He was relieved he didn't have to answer any more questions about why the contract extension process was taking so long.
The defensive end is not in the building yet but will try to get there sometime today.
"I actually was preparing to talk to you guys about how I have nothing to tell you guys, and I was three minutes late because I just got told of the news," Shanahan admitted. "So, obviously pumped up about it, and [I will] try to hit him up after this and figure it out, but I know he's trying to get here as fast as possible."
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More importantly, he is relieved that the 49ers will have Bosa on the field for Week 1. The coach admits that some negative thoughts started to creep into his head as the preparation time for the regular season opener shrunk.
"You try not to think about it much because it's not really in my control, and you just got to let the process play itself out," Shanahan said. "Once it kind of went through the weekend, I just kind of got in my mind that we weren't playing with him because if I would have gone back and forth, I would have been miserable. So I just decided we weren't.
"I think our team was ready to not [play with Bosa], and that was our mindset this way, and it was a hell of a bonus to just get told that coming in here. So we're obviously real excited about it."
Bosa's new five-year deal is reportedly worth up to $170 million, which includes a massive $122.5 million in guarantees.
Said Shanahan: "I thought it would come to fruition sometime last week, and it didn't, which made me nervous, made me kind of move on with it just because I thought I had to. But, I mean, we all knew Nick was going to get rewarded like he did. ... I'm just glad we got it worked out on everyone's side because we love Nick. I think he loves being here, and he's definitely earned this, and he's going to earn it going forward, too."
The 49ers are just days away from their game against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Bosa will certainly play, but the coaches still need to evaluate the player after such a lengthy time apart.
"I don't know when he's going to get here or where he's flying from, but we'll be smart with it, and that'll be based over these next two-and-a-half practices," Shanahan said.
What are the chances that Bosa doesn't play some in that road game?
"He'd have to have a beer belly and be out of shape or something, which that's not in Bosa's DNA," Shanahan responded.
Bosa was on day 44 of his holdout after not reporting to training camp on July 25. The coach didn't feel the need to step in and push the negotiations forward.
"If I do, it's always just to talk to the player, and I didn't have to do that, so I'm glad," Shanahan said.
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.
Bosa was named last season's NFL Defensive Player of the Year.